Suedzucker raises full-year outlook as quarterly profit surges 73%

HAMBURG (Reuters) -Suedzucker, Europe's largest sugar producer, on Thursday raised its full-year profit forecast after posting a sharp rise in quarterly earnings as high sugar prices helped offset rising energy and raw materials costs.

Its operating profit for the first quarter ended May 31 rose 73% to 282 million euros ($306 million).

Suedzucker raised its forecast for full-year 2023/24 operating profit to between 850 million and 950 million euros, up from the previous forecast of 725 million to 875 million euros. Last year, the company's operating profit rose 112% to 704 million euros.

Its first-quarter operating profit in its core sugar sector rose to 169 million euros from 1 million euros in the year-ago period.

"The strong rise in costs, particularly for raw materials and energy, was offset by higher prices since the end of the last fiscal year," the sugar producer said.

Suedzucker has extensive non-sugar interests ranging from biofuels to processed foods.

For the full year, Suedzucker said it expects the EU to remain a net sugar importer with world sugar prices expected to remain high with only a small surplus in global sugar supply.

Given this "continued positive market environment", Suedzucker said it expects to achieve continued high sugar prices in the EU.

Tight global supplies sent sugar futures soaring to 11-1/2-year highs in April. EU sugar prices rose to around 814 euros a metric ton in May 2023, up 80% from May 2022, EU data said.

Asked about a Reuters report in June that one of the world's most common artificial sweeteners Aspartame is set to be declared a possible carcinogen by a leading global health body, a Suedzucker spokesperson said: "Based on such an assessment, a change in demand for sugar is not to be expected."

(Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Friederike Heine and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)