In an impressive success, potato farming giant HZPC has recovered a significant amount of money stolen by cyber criminals, paving the way for financial growth in the 2023/2024 financial year. The recovery marks an important milestone after a difficult period in which the group was targeted by cyber criminals in September and the stolen funds were temporarily held in a blocked account pending a forensic investigation.
HZPC’s ability to recoup these funds has strengthened their financial outlook, according to the British Potato Review report. The company forecasts a 4% increase in turnover this financial year, aiming to beat last year’s results despite lower profitability in Europe.
HZPC’s February quarterly report noted yield declines across Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, which initially forecast a 6% decline in expected sales tonnage. However, the company successfully sold more high-quality seed potatoes than expected, which had a positive impact on its operations in Europe. In contrast, other regions experienced declines, partly due to high harvests causing oversupply.
Group CEO Gerard Baxx expressed optimism, saying: “We expect the total tonnage that we sell and/or that is sold to licensees to increase by 5% compared to the previous year. We will likely be within 1% of reaching the million tonne milestone. ” This growth is mainly due to significant progress in the American and Asian markets, which resulted in a 23% increase in license-grown tonnage.
Despite the challenges, the changing dynamics between direct sales and licensed production, as well as rising selling prices, are expected to contribute to a 4% increase in financial turnover, reaching approximately EUR 440 million, compared with EUR 423 million last year. The company also expects a slight increase in gross profit of €72 million, as well as a slight increase in operating expenses.
However, the financial outlook is not without uncertainty. The HZPC took into account potential provisions for debtors in politically unstable regions, which could affect overall costs. Despite this, the net result is forecast to be between €5 million and €7 million, closely in line with the previous two financial years’ net results of €7 million.
These projections do not include costs associated with the Connecting Growers program, an initiative aimed at strengthening grower relationships and improving overall productivity.
