Nordzucker Post 5/2026 - 23 July 2026

First quarter of 2026/2027: Revenue and operating profit continue to decline as expected

As expected, the Nordzucker Group closed the first quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year at the end of May 2026 with a decline in revenue and a slightly negative operating profit.

At 523 million Euro, Group revenue was below the level of the same period of the previous year (603 million Euro). Operating profit (EBIT) stood at minus 14 million Euro, compared with minus 6 million Euro in the first quarter of the year before.

Low sugar prices in both the EU and global markets thus continued to impact the result. A rise in prices and sales quantities for ethanol and beet pulp partially offset the loss. Declining logistics and administrative costs, resulting from our internal cost-cutting measures, also helped to stabilise the result.

“The European sugar market remains under pressure. High stock levels in the EU, as well as rising production forecasts in key producing countries, are impacting market developments. With this in mind, we have once again reduced the cultivation areas in the EU for the current harvest year and therefore expect a lower processing volume in the coming campaign. However, a noticeable recovery in the market is not yet foreseeable in the short term. At the same time, actual harvest volumes remain dependent on factors over which we have only limited control – in particular the weather and any potential pest infestations later in the summer and early autumn,” said Alexander Godow, COO.

For the 2026/2027 financial year, Nordzucker expects a loss in the mid double-digit millions due to the current market situation. Various cost-optimisation initiatives were launched early last year, and Nordzucker intensified its existing excellence programmes. “The effects of the adjustment to the beet price models and our internal initiatives – such as the reduction in administrative costs, the further adaptation of the network structure and the increase in profitability in our German business – will become fully apparent in the 2027/2028 financial year. By then, we expect to return to a positive result thanks to our comprehensive measures and a potential market recovery that may have taken effect by that time. We took early and decisive action to turn the situation around, with the aim of returning to profitability under our own steam in this challenging environment,” explains CFO Alexander Bott.