Greenyard has outperformed its competitors in the field of fruits and vegetables, thereby expanding the market share of Greenyard. The company’s annual report says. “Despite a general decrease in consumption (-10 percent) The volume of Greenyard decreased by just 0.8 percent, and the prices were up 8.5 percent,” begins co-CEO Marc Zwaaneveld. The company’s annual sales grew by 7.9 percent, reaching 4,638 billion euros. The positive results mean Greenyard will soon be paying shareholders dividends.
Marc claims that the company owes its superior position relative due to the integration of customer relations and the complementary divisions. This led to the company’s operating earnings of 0.5 percent more than the previous year – EUR167.3 million than in last year. Financial debt for the business fell by nearly 9% during the last financial year, to EUR277.3 million. This further reduced its ratio of debt to 2.4 down to 2.2.
“Profits, however, did decline. The previous year’s net income was EUR16.9 million in the prior year. This fiscal year’s net earnings are EUR9.3 million. “That’s principally due to additional restructuring to help strengthen the Fresh business model for the future. In this context, the Fresh UK slow-down is coming close to finalization,” explains Marc.
Stonger relative position
Marc isn’t worried about the people who eat more fruits and vegetables. “I believe that they wrongly view fruits and vegetables as being terribly pricey. These products are generally more affordable than many healthy products. Additionally, even with the recession however, we’ve performed quite fairly well. Our volumes are comparable as the prior year. That suggests that if inflation begins to stabilize and we’ll be able to benefit of our generally more stable market situation.”
Greenyard was also announcing it’s going to continue paying dividends to its shareholders. “We’ll propose for a return to dividends at the annual shareholders’ general meeting scheduled for September 15 2023. This will commence with the payment of a EUR0.10 per share dividend throughout the fiscal year that ends in March 2023,” Marc states.
Integrated customer service
Greenyard’s integrated customer relationships as an important catalyst in the success of the business. This week, the company revealed it had announced that the company’s German branch has taken the first steps to establish the creation of a custom, integrated customer connection that is a part of German retailers Dohle Trading Group. Over the next few months, this model is expected to be refined further to create an all-inclusive solution to Dohle HIT, which will start operating before the end of summer.
“This particular model is drawing interest from third parties. There are different models for every customer however the underlying reason remains the same. The problem is that there’s still too much spread-out trading that puts prices in a state of stress. In the end, all of the chain is in a state of stress and everyone gets anything. I believe we’ve demonstrated by this method that, if you’re willing truly cooperate, everybody could earn a livelihood. Also, it’s important to keep in contact with your coworkers, allowing the ability to forecast and respond effectively to the availability of products.”
In recent times, accessibility is becoming a more difficult matter. At Greenyard, too. “Our international footprint gives us an advantage in not being tied to particular locations. If the product we offer isn’t available in a particular area, we search for different areas. This means we can assure that the product will be available. However, we’ll need to acknowledge that in the near future, that the availability of products will decrease at certain times” Zwaaneveld says. Zwaaneveld.
There is a need that governments can play in this. “Many nations simply do not effectively manage their water. For instance, in Belgian Limburg, good investments were made, however several regions are facing problems. It’s raining enough but all the water that should be stored has been now gone.”
“The climate is changing and if scientists believe them that the climate’s changing is only getting more rapid. Therefore, drastic measures need to be taken to address the issue. Conserve rainwater to use later when it’s not. The government must help growers with this. They can’t be on their own,” Marc insists.
VAT has to be reduced
He also mentions discussions about the reduction of VAT on fresh fruits and other vegetables. There’s been a heated discussion in the Netherlands on the reduction’s effects and the clarification. However, Marc reiterated the need to take action: “There are always reasons to continue talking about it and debate, but the truth is that passing the reduction in VAT will provide an incentive to consumers to make healthier choices. It is impossible to know yet the exact result that this will bring however if you wish to promote healthy eating habits it is imperative to act today.”
The delineation of the boundaries is an issue to be discussed in the future, Marc argues. “You could start by eating real fresh, healthy vegetables and fruits. We all know that eating a handful of lettuce or a fruit is nutritious, which means you could cut down on the tax rate of these products. There’s a chance to talk about different goods – for which it’s not clear which are fruits and vegetables – in the future. The Netherlands as well as Belgium are prepared to deal with this. The cost will be a significant amount of money, however the same goes for healthcare if aren’t doing it,” he explains.
The future of confidence
After a great last year Greenyard believes in the coming years. On the basis of its impressive outcomes, its current forecasts and its outlook, the 2023-2024 fiscal year’s revenues should increase to around EUR4.9 billion, while operating profits should increase between EUR175 and 180 million. By March 2026, Greenyard wants to reach EUR5.4 billion in sales. EUR200 to the 210 million operating profit.
“By 2050, there’ll be 10 billion mouths to take care of. It is imperative to discover new, greener ways to make food with lesser environmental footprint and higher nutrition value, should we not want to put our future on the line for our grandchildren, children and generations to will follow. Food made from plants is a one of the solutions however, it has to be available, inexpensive as well as tasty and easy to prepare. Greenyard is the right size of its workforce, as well as all year-round range of premium products across all categories to support the irreversible change,” says the co-CEO Hein Deprez.
Read the full annual report here.
For more information:
Greenyard
Email: info@greenyard.group
Website: www.greenyard.group
Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies