EINBECK (dpa-AFX) - Due to good business in all segments, seed producer KWS Saat has exceeded expectations for the past fiscal year. The company increased its net sales by 18 percent to 1.82 billion euros in the fiscal year that ran until the end of June, it announced in Einbeck on Wednesday. Earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) climbed 44 percent to just under 223 million euros, corresponding to an operating margin of 12.2 percent. The key figures are thus above both the company's own forecast and analysts' expectations.

The bottom line was a profit of 127 million euros, of which KWS Saat intends to pay its shareholders a dividend of 90 cents, compared with 80 cents in the previous year.

In the current fiscal year 2023/24, the SDax-listed company expects to increase net sales on a comparable basis by three to five percent. The Einbeck-based company is targeting an operating margin of between 11 and 13 percent. The margin forecast is in line with analysts' expectations; in terms of sales, the average estimate of experts surveyed by Bloomberg is at the lower end of the company's forecast./jcf/zb