Although the turnover of HZPC reached EUR312m in the 2020-2021 financial year, compared to EUR360m for the previous season, the dividend payment remained the same, at EUR1 per share, and, at the same time, the company management declared a sales increase.
“We have seen a rise in the tonnage sales, we are proud to have started the Connective Growers program, and we are delighted with the efforts made to realize a competitive price for our growers,” the HZPC’s representatives stated.
According to a recent press release, in the 2019-2020 financial year, the company sold 892,000 tons of seed potatoes either directly or via licenses.
In the previous season (2020-2021), HZPC crossed a new boundary. “This resulted in overall sales of 904,000 tons of seed potatoes,” the company’s experts added.
This growth in tons primarily took place outside Europe, in America and Asia. The margins on these extra tons, however, failed to compensate for the substantial reduction in the margin that HZPC suffered in the Netherlands and France, as a result of much lower sales to the fries industry and several significant export countries, including Algeria.
Operating Result
Even though during the last financial year (2019-2020), the company’s after-tax result came out at EUR1.2m, in 2020-2021, this figure turned out zero. The situation would have been different if the company’s management decided against starting up the Connecting Growers program.
But, being dedicated to its clients through Connecting Growers, HZPC aims to ensure farmers’ loyalty and allow them to benefit from developments within the company.
“This program has led to a significant increase in the number of certificate holders. As well as the success of the Connecting Growers program, and despite the many challenges faced by our organization, we are delighted with the efforts that have been made to realize competitive prices for our growers. [i.e. the Connecting Growers program] cost EUR1.35m in 2020-2021. With this program, we have bought certificates which have then been distributed to 70% of our active growers in the European Union,” HZPC official representatives mentioned.
From Growers, for Growers
According to Gerard Backx, CEO of HZPC, the company had to implement reorganizations at several locations within the organization and this has unfortunately impacted the number of available workplaces.
“We are focused on growth. Although this process has been hindered over the past year, nothing is broken. It is hard when you have to make decisions you would rather not make. Thanks to the robust foundations of the organization, however, we were able to limit this as much as possible but it does not detract from the fact that we would have rather found ourselves in a different situation,” said the company’s CEO.
Backx also mentioned that ‘luckily’, HZPC has a healthy foundation, and the company’s presence in many countries has been strengthened over the past year, as have product packages and interesting projects.
“A great example of this is the recently presented Even Greener, a selection of sustainable varieties with a lower impact on the environment. Thanks to these positives and the energy that we feel within the organization, we can move towards the future with confidence. Towards further growth,” HZPC’s CEO declared.
On October 7, 2021, the Supervisory Board at HZPC Holding B.V. discussed the accounts for the 2020-2021 financial year. On the same day, the general meeting of shareholders adopted the annual accounts.
