Spanish food company Ebro Foods has reported mixed results for the first nine months of 2011, with sales increasing but its pasta operations hitting earnings.
On Thursday (27 October), Ebro reported a 5% increase in turnover to EUR1.31bn (US$1.79bn) as sales from both its rice and pasta divisions grew.
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However, its EBITDA fell 4.5% to EUR185.7m as earnings from its pasta division dropped by almost 13%.
Ebro said EBITDA from pasta slid 12.9% to EUR102.4m thanks in part to durum wheat prices, which the company said had “practically doubled” on a year earlier.
The company said it had increased prices in France and North America and hoped to see the benefit in the last three months of the year.
Ebro also pointed to costs incurred by its move to restructure its Birkel business in Germany.
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By GlobalDataEBITDA from Ebro’s rice division rose 5.4% in the first nine months of 2011 to EUR92.5m.
The company’s EBITDA, however, dropped 4.5% to EUR185.7m due to the problems in its pasta division. Ebro also cited as well as the delay in setting up a rice plant in the US and the impact of currency fluctuations, factors it had already announced in July when it reported its half-year results.
Nevertheless, Ebro pointed out that its third-quarter EBITDA was up 27.4%. It expects annual EBITDA to be up by around 2%.
Over the first nine months of the year, Ebro’s net profit from continuing operations rose 16% to EUR92.9m.
