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France's Avril sees crops sustaining revenue regardless of tough 2023

French oilseeds group Avril expects its core profit to increase by over half by the end of the decade as its cropbased food, fuel and commercial items fulfill demand for lowercarbon goods, it said on Wednesday.

The agribusiness group, produced by oilseed and protein crop growers, is France's biggest biodiesel and animal nutrition maker and a leading gamer in cooking oil and plant-based chemicals.

The group's revenue fell last year from record levels in 2022, when Russia's intrusion of Ukraine sent out agricultural product rates soaring.

Core EBITDA profits reached 341 million euros, below 583 million euros in 2022, while net earnings dropped to 39 million euros from 218 million euros, with falling product markets and an economic decline in Europe weighing, Avril stated.

But the group intends to boost core incomes to over 550 million euros by 2030, supported by expense savings and increased investments in crop-derived items after divesting animal protein activities since 2021.

In biofuel, Avril is focusing on broadening its 100%. biodiesel fuel made from rapeseed for fleet trucks.

After sales of the Oleo100 fuel reached 160,000 metric heaps. last year, against the group's overall biodiesel output of around. 1.2 million lots, the group aims for volume growth of 20% -25% in. 2024, President Jean-Philippe Puig informed reporters.

Demand for the lower-emissions fuel is strong, though. bottlenecks in automobile supply chains have suppressed the variety of. suitable trucks showing up on the marketplace, Puig included.

Avril is also looking at developing with farmers. intermediate crops like camelina as biomass for sustainable. air travel fuel, he said.

The group is pursuing strategies to broaden capacity to squash. sunflower seed in France and minimize dependence on imports. following upheaval triggered by the war in Ukraine.

Investments in its French sunflower crushing centers have. raised output through greater reliability, while expansion at. the Lezoux site in central France will bring annual capability. there from around 170,000 lots to 240,000 heaps by early next. year, Puig stated.

(source: Reuters)