France’s Avril Group posts record financial performance for 2022
EBITDA rose by 64% to €583m (US$639.4m). Revenue came in at €9bn, up +32% and net income group share jumped by 45% to €218m.
It acquired six companies in 2022 and also finalized the divestment of its animal processing activities in pork (Porcgros and Aberra) and eggs (Matines).
In addition, last year saw the commissioning of the Dieppe plant for the rapeseed protein isolate extraction project Avril is running in conjunction with DSM.
Crushing and feed
Within the Avril oilseed processing industry and renewable energies sector, comprising the seed crushing operations as well as the production of oilseed meal, refined oils, and biofuels, the group recorded an EBITDA of €272m.
The group’s agriculture segment, which includes its feed business, Sanders, its animal nutrition focused specialties operations, MiXscience, and raw material purchasing business, Feed Alliance, saw a robust performance, despite the inflationary context of commodity and energy prices, which severely penalized the livestock farming sector.
Sanders, it added, managed to maintain its level of activity despite the drop in volumes due to epizootic diseases and decapitalization, and the overall segment posted an EBITDA of €36m.
In 2022, Avril allocated an exceptional budget of €6m to support livestock farmers. In total, more than 1,200 farmers benefited from this assistance. Sixty percent of the allocated funds supported projects to modernize farms, while the remaining 40% financed measures to help young people set up in business.
On the strength of the success of that initiative and given the ongoing challenges the French livestock industry is facing, the group said it intends to renew this program in 2023.
