Suedzucker reports better quarterly earnings despite weak market for sugar

Suedzucker, Europe's biggest sugar producer, reported an operating profit for the third quarter on Tuesday. The non-sugar sector, in particular fruit, helped to overcome a weak EU market.

The German company reported that its operating profit for the quarter ended November 2025 in fiscal 2025/26 totaled 53 million euros (61.81 millions), compared to a loss of 33million euros for the same period the previous year.

The company reduced its third-quarter sugar losses to 47 million euros, down from 95 millions euros in the previous year.

Suedzucker, which warned that the EU sugar market is likely to stay depressed, confirmed its forecast for full-year operating?profits of 100-200 million euros in 2025/26, down from last year's 350 million. The group's non-sugar operations range from pizza to starch, and even biofuels. The data showed that the 'average EU sugar price fell to 532 Euros a metric tonne in November 2025, from 600 Euros in November 2024. However, the EU restricted cheap Ukrainian imports after farmer protests.

A spokesperson for Suedzucker said, "The sugar production in the EU and worldwide is far too high, and is above the consumption." Prices remain low and sugar market conditions are still very challenging. "No significant earnings recovery is expected in the sugar industry."

The company said that sugar prices will not increase in the fall of 2025 because the world market price decline and the large beet harvest in Europe are causing the prices to remain low.

Suedzucker? said that a significant reduction in production costs did not compensate for price drops. Sugar inventories produced at high cost had to be sold for lower prices.

Suedzucker expects to incur a loss on the sugar sector in the fourth quarter. (Reporting and editing by Miranda Murray, HarikrishnanNair)

(source: Reuters)