ForFarmers N.V. Aktie

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the ForFarmers Annual Results 2025. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to give the word to Floor. Floor, please go ahead.

Thank you, Berjan. Welcome to the webcast for the 2025 annual results for ForFarmers. I'm here with Pieter Wolleswinkel, Marloes Roetgerink and Rob Kiers. And I will now hand over to Pieter to start the presentation.

Yes. Thank you, Floor. And also on our behalf, a welcome from Lochem. We are here to present our 2025 results. I'll start off with the key events. Marloes will present the financial results, and I'll close off with a view on our management agenda of 2026, after which, obviously, questions can be asked. 2025 can be seen as a record year when we talk about volumes, when we talk about net profit. And obviously, we have seen the additional effects of our acquisitions, so the full year effect of [indiscernible], the joint venture merger with team agrar, but it is good to mention that we also have shown organic growth. That means we're gaining market share.

We see that we have a very customer-focused approach. And by working this way, we are successful in gaining new customers. We do realize that 2025 was a year for our farmers with favorable market conditions. For most of the year, the returns were good, especially for eggs and poultry, but we did see with dairy and pig prices going down that the situation changed towards the end of the year.

In the Netherlands, we have seen that we were able to remain our volumes despite the impact of the buyout schemes. In Germany, we worked on the integration of the joint venture. In Poland, a strong performance. It's very good to mention explicitly the good results in the United Kingdom. We have finalized the reorganization and also in the U.K., we are strengthening our market positions.

This has led to a volume of 10.6 million tonnes, obviously steered by the acquisition effects, but also on an autonomous base, we saw an increase of approximately 1% of our total volume and also of our compound feed volume. Then directly moving to our underlying net profit, we see an increase of EUR 40.6 million to nearly EUR 62 million. That has led to a dividend proposal of EUR 0.30 per share coming from EUR 0.20 over 2024, so an increase of 50%. Our ROACE has increased; end of 2024, we were at 13%; end of 2025, we were at 17.4%. So therefore, clearly above our guidance.

Looking at our sustainability agenda, we can be satisfied with the progress we've made on our 3 pillars: the carbon footprint reduction, the promotion of circularity and the protection of biodiversity.

Starting off with the carbon footprint reduction, we see a decline of 3% per tonne feed. So we are improving. Looking at our Scope 1 and 2, for example, our factories, we are buying cleaner energy and also investing in more energy-efficient installations. Looking upstream, so the sourcing of raw materials, we've made good progress there. We see that in our procurement decisions, more and more we can work with raw materials that have a lower carbon footprint. We do recognize that looking downstream, so towards the consumer, only limited initiatives start to evolve. So therefore, not much progress has been made yet. Yet overall, if we talk about our carbon footprint reduction, we are on track.

The promotion of circularity is a key thing in our strategy, and it is good to recognize that we have increased from 37% to 41%, mainly driven by the full year acquisition effect of Van Triest, a company focused fully on co-products. The protection of biodiversity has 2 key themes. The first is the sourcing of soy, and we were pleased to announce a partnership with Bunge, end of last year in which we will focus more and more on the sustainable growth of soy.

Looking at nitrogen, still a key theme in the Netherlands. We are working on this with our farmers via particular feed compositions and also to help them in their manure management. So based on that, we can clearly show progress on the sustainability agenda.

If we then look at our clusters, we start, as always, with the Netherlands and Belgium, a big step-up in volume driven by the Van Triest acquisition. But what clearly stands out for us is that on compound feed, we saw an increase in the Netherlands, even despite the effect of the buyout program that negatively affected the business in the second half of 2025, especially in the pig sector. For us, this means that our technical results for the farmers are very good. Our feed prices are competitive, and that has led to an increase of market share in all species.

We are strengthening our positions in the poultry industry. We announced the acquisition of Beukelaar in November. So again, a step forward. And also Pavo, our horse business and Reudink, our organic business shows a good performance in 2025. So overall, a very strong results in the Netherlands that gives us the opportunity to invest in the factories and make sure they are competitive and future-proof towards the future.

Looking at the U.K., a clear increase of volume, more than 5%, mainly driven by the ruminants. We see that our positioning stands out. We also recognize that we were supported by the favorable milk prices. We finalized the reorganization in the first half of 2025. The divestment of the second feed mill took place, and we recognize a clearly more competitive cost base and an improvement of the feed mill utilization. And based on that, we are also more competitive in the poultry and pig sector.

So based on that, that means that also there in the free market as well as in the integrated market, we are more successful to act, and that has clearly led to an improvement of the financial result. And it is good to mention that also in the U.K., we have passed the threshold of 10% that we'd like to see on ROACE.

Then moving to the East, the cluster, Germany, Poland, a strong performance. Looking at Germany, we worked on the integration, obviously, of the joint venture, but we can also say that we are satisfied on the performance of the compound feed activities. They are in line with our expectation. Point of concern is HaBeMa, the transshipment activities were slow in the first half of the year due to the small harvest size and also to the change of currency, the dollar to euro that has been a limiting factor for the exports of grain. And if the grains are not exported, the transshipment activities are slow, but it is good to mention that there has been recovery in the second half of 2025.

Poland, strong development despite animal diseases as bird flu that took place in the first months of 2025 and also at the closing of the year. But we are growing, and that means we need to keep on working on investment agenda to ensure capacity towards the future. And therefore, we were also pleased to announce the acquisition of Farmpasz in January of this year. With that step, the Northeast of Poland, we are strengthening our ruminant position.

Last week, we were very pleased to announce a very big step in the history of ForFarmers, namely that we are entering into a joint venture with KPS. KPS is a company that is active in poultry production, slaughtering as well as processing. We know KPS already for a long time. The owners of KPS are also shareholder of Tasomix. And by joining forces, we create a strong integrated approach with the birds, with the feed, with the slaughtering activities and the processing of the meat.

So based on that, we can work more efficient, roll out innovations in a more quicker pace and respond strongly to changing market circumstances. And based on that, that helps us to grow in -- for us, a very important mark towards the future. This is aligned with our strategy that we announced towards 2030. We recognize that in Europe, more and more integrations will develop, especially in the poultry area, and we, as ForFarmers want to play an active role in that and KPS is, therefore, a logical step to take.

KPS is a company with approximately 2,000 employees, a turnover of approximately EUR 250 million and an EBITDA of EUR 46 million. Based on these numbers, you can already recognize that it is, for ForFarmers, a very big step towards the future. The current shareholders are the families, Krzyzanowski and Sobczak. They own 100% of the shares of KPS and they also own 40% shares of Tasomix, where ForFarmers owns the other 60%.

KPS has 7 modern poultry farms with a total of approximately 3 million bird places. All these poultry are supplied to the slaughterhouse in Radom, so relatively a new slaughterhouse opened in 2018. Half of the birds are sourced from the own farm and the other half is sourced in the free farm market in the east of Poland.

Most of the meat is sold for exports and approximately 10% is moved to the processing facility in Pionki. Pionki is also where we have the feed mill of Tasomix. And the processing plant specialized in ready-to-eat products like meals and chicken nuggets. And most of these products are sold to international food services and retail customers.

A new joint venture will therefore be established, ForFarmers Polska with 2 companies, Tasomix and KPS. ForFarmers will then have a controlling stake, 50.5% and consolidate the joint venture fully. The difference in valuation will be paid in 3 annual tranches and the transaction will immediately add to our net profit and therefore, also add to the future dividend.

The transaction is subject to approval by the Polish Competition Authority. And given the size of the deal, we will also need approval from the ForFarmers' shareholders, and it will be agendized for the annual meeting on the 16th of April in -- at Laren. We expect to complete the transaction in the third quarter of the year. And we are also very pleased that the current Tasomix Management Board will lead the ForFarmers Polska Board. They have well experienced both on the feed side as on the food side. And based on that, we are very comfortable that they will be able to lead the integration towards the future.

Having said that, I would like to hand over to you, Marloes.

Thank you, Pieter. Good morning, everyone. As Pieter already mentioned, we look back on a very strong financial year for ForFarmers. I would like to take you through last year figures in more detail. Total volume amounted to 10.6 million tonnes, 80% above previous year, mainly driven by 2 M&A effects. First, the acquisition of Van Triest. This acquisition has been included in the figures since September 2024. And in 2025, you see the full year effect. In addition, the joint venture in Germany has been fully consolidated as of March 2025.

When looking at like-for-like growth, so excluding M&A, volume growth was 1%. All clusters performed strongly in terms of volume over the past year. Looking at compound feeds, reported growth was 6.9% and like-for-like growth was 0.7%. We have been able to further strengthen our market position in compound feed, something we are obviously pleased with.

Revenue at ForFarmers is strongly correlated with raw material prices, which is why we tend to focus more on the development of volume relative to gross profit than on revenue itself. Gross profit improved significantly, both on a reported and like-for-like basis. All clusters showed strong improvement. In addition to the 6.6% like-for-like growth of the underlying gross profit, underlying operating expenses have remained flat on a like-for-like basis. The like-for-like number of FTEs has remained stable and increase in salary costs have been largely offset by lower energy expenses.

Underlying EBIT has improved by 58%, an achievement we are proud of, made possible by the dedication and hard work of the entire team. We see an increase in underlying depreciation, mainly due to acquisitions, but also due to a slightly higher level in investment and replacement CapEx. EBITDA for 2025 amounted to EUR 145.9 million compared to EUR 100.8 million over 2024. In addition to the underlying EBIT, underlying net profit also shows an improvement of more than 50%. Although net finance expenses increased, interest costs on loans have decreased following the lower net debt.

Other components, including interest expenses on leases have increased. The share of profit of equity accounted investees is lower. HaBeMa was accounted for via this method in the past. This has been fully consolidated as of March 2025. Underlying income tax was higher as more profit was generated. Altogether, this results in an underlying net profit attributable to the owners of the company of EUR 61.9 million, which translates into underlying earnings per share of EUR 0.70. ROACE for 2025 amounts to 17.4%.

Regarding exceptional items and other APMs, there are no major changes. Other operating income mainly relates to a one-off consolidation effect of HaBeMa of EUR 4 million and the sale of a feed mill and an office building in the U.K. At the level of operating expenses, this is mainly related to M&A costs. On the next line, you see the amortization of intangible assets acquired in the past. The annual unwinding and revaluation of the Tasomix put option liability are reflected in the finance results, which increased due to a strong performance of our business in Poland. The total of exceptional items and other APMs for 2025 amounts to EUR 12.5 million. Reported profit of 2025 was EUR 54.4 million.

On the next slide, you find the balance sheet. Total assets increased to over EUR 1.1 billion, driven by the consolidation of the German joint venture. Equity increased to over EUR 438 million, driven by the profit contribution and partly offset by dividend paid. The solvency ratio stands at a solid 39.5%. Net working capital increased to EUR 39 million, driven by the consolidation of the German joint venture. Overdue receivables decreased to 7.9%. Last year, the net debt position was EUR 57 million. Due to the strong results, there is no longer a net debt position with a net cash position of EUR 6 million. This provides a solid basis to finance the joint venture in Poland announced last week and other M&A.

On the next slide, you find the cash flow mutations. Cash flow from operating activities amounted to EUR 148 million. Investing activities are primarily related to investment in CapEx in 2025. Increase in cash flow from financing activities is mainly related to the higher dividends paid in 2025 over 2024. Together with the drawdown of loans, this results in a net cash position of EUR 6 million over 2025.

With that, I would like to conclude the financial update and hand over to Pieter to further elaborate on the management agenda.

Yes. Thank you, Marloes. We realize that the market circumstances are somewhat different than a year ago. Milk prices are down and the big returns are also under pressure. Nevertheless, our management agenda stands. Obviously, much attention will go to the completion of the transaction and the start of the integration of Tasomix and KPS. In the Netherlands, strengthening of market position in all species stands out.

Also with Reudink, our organic feed company, we want to achieve growth. In Poland, also the expansion of capacity is on the agenda as well as expansion of our ruminant position given the Farmpasz acquisition. In Germany, we focus on growth now that we have worked hard on the integration of ForFarmers and team agrar. In the U.K., we've shown growth in the ruminant sector. And based on that, we foresee that we need to invest in our capacity towards the future and plans are made for that. We do this with a continuous focus on our cost control. And also when we talk about our sustainability agenda, we will continue to work with chain partners, especially towards consumers to ensure we achieve our ambitions.

With that, we come to the end of this presentation, and I would like to give the floor to questions.

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Fernand de Boer, Degroof Petercam.

Fernand de Boer from Petercam. First of all, congrats with the results. And then I have actually 2 questions. If I look at your implied performance in Q4 with EBITDA still substantially rising, while your volumes were actually quite down. How does that then work with the operational leverage? Or where does any actually strong results in Q4 come from? That's the first question.

And then the second one on the return on invested capital, well above your target of 10%. So how do we have to look at that forward -- going forward and also in light of the acquisition of the merger in Poland?

Yes. Thanks, Fernand, especially for the compliment. On the first point, what we see, especially in Q4 is that on the co-products, one product stream is not longer supplied to the feed industry, but has moved to the biogas industry. That has taken away quite some volume. And as you can recognize, more volumes than margins. We know that the co-products are competitive products. So based on that, it has not so much affected our profit. And given that these products don't go into our factories, it's also not that it has pushed our capacity fill down, so it's -- indeed, the observation is there, but it is good to see that if we look at our compound feed volumes, also Q4 was good to mention.

On the ROACE, indeed, we are already now for 2 years, clearly above our target of 10%. That is obviously also what we recognize. We've always said we will be investing towards the future, and that might affect our future ROACE. Obviously, we have now made the announcement on KPS, but we don't foresee that, that will put a strong pressure on the ROACE figure. So coming back to your question, we obviously realize what the question basically means that what is your future guidance on ROACE over the summer period, we will take a closer look on that. And most probably in the autumn, we'll then come up with a new guidance on ROACE.

Okay. Maybe one follow-up question on the Dutch market because I think in the second half of the year, you saw more impact of the buyout agreement in the Netherlands. How do we have to look at that in, let's say, the first half or maybe in '26 as a total for your volumes?

Yes. So the observation is correct. That's also basically what we stated that the impact was mainly there in the second half of the year. So the buyout schemes meant that in November, the bonds need to be empty. So we still saw obviously also for us a decline in the pig sector coming from that. The good thing is that we have largely compensated it on a year-to-year base. But indeed, it means that in the first half of 2026, this will put the pressure on the factory fill.

We're working on that with the teams. At the end of the day, we always said for every farmer that quits, we need to fill that with a new customer. So we're working on that. And at the end of the day, still with the ambition that we keep our volumes in the Dutch market stable. And that means that we need to gain market share.

And yes, apologies. With the new government in the Netherlands, do you expect new legislation for the farmers? Or is it now finally for everybody a little bit clear that also the farmers can move on? Or how do you feel at that point?

Yes. So what we see is that there's limited money available for buyout schemes, and we're pleased on that. I think ForFarmers has always been very explicit that we don't believe in buyout schemes. It's a relatively expensive way to solve a problem. And we've seen that also with the analysis that have been done on the program of 2025. So it has costed the Dutch taxpayers approximately EUR 2 billion and the effect is minimal. So what we recognize in the new governmental agreement is that there is much more room for innovation. It's target steering. So that means that every farmer will get its targets for nitrogen, and that means with management steps with different feeds, you can work on improvement.

And we believe that, that is a very quick way to move forward to show progress and that will also help farmers towards the future. Will that solve everything? No, there will be particular situations, especially around the material -- 2000 where issues will remain. And there also local steps will most likely be taken. But nevertheless, we do see that it is an opening in the nitrogen crisis, but I also realize that still a lot of work needs to be done also to see what exactly the targets will be for the farmers. Are they realistic? What measurements can be taken also with sufficient legal background backing. So based on that, still a lot of work to do. But for us, the glass is half full.

[Operator Instructions] Next question comes from Henk Slotboom, the IDEA.

Sorry, I was on mute myself. Apologies for that. But here I am. A topic I've been addressing before, Pieter, and perhaps you can clarify it a little bit. Although I like the KPS deal you announced last week a lot, it basically really puts you on the map in Poland even more than you were already before this deal. But there are 2 ways to look at this. There's also a look from a risk perspective perhaps. Let me explain. If we're talking about avian flu, you got away with it pretty well last year in Poland. Now it's spreading over into other territories as well.

Suppose you -- you would have this joint venture already today in the past situation, if stables have to be emptied, have to be cleared and that sort of things, you suffer a damage that you don't sell feed to poultry farmers. But in this case, you're a co-owner of poultry farms as well. Is that increasing the risk there? How we should look at ForFarmers?

Or is it at the end of the day, worthwhile being involved in the poultry farming anyhow, so the integration model you're now establishing. Perhaps you can shed some light on it? And how do you manage this risk? Because this looks like an external factor, which is less easy to control than running your cost base, for example, itself?

Yes, it's a fair observation, Henk. And obviously, we have taken this into account coming to -- at the end of the day, the deal as has been announced. So what we recognize is, one, the impact of Poland will be bigger. Two, the impact of poultry in Poland will be bigger. So indeed, the market circumstances in Poland will play a big role on this. And that can indeed mean, for example, animal diseases.

So for us, it's indeed, it's all about how to mitigate the risk of this. And at the end of the day, that starts with the biosecurity measurements to avoid that you run into issues. Also there, we will evaluate options to ensure. We've also seen that in other countries where with insurance, you can mitigate the risks of that. And on the other side, we also need to be realistic that if we now look at the returns for the poultry farmer, both on eggs as well as on meat, the returns are very good and that basically has to do with the shortage that we recognize also because of the bird flu.

So where it's a risk on one side, looking at the financials, it can also be an upside and that might be that over time, we have particular fluctuations and volatility in our results. In general, that is not what we like, and we want to be reliable in our forecast. But on the other side, we always said, look at ForFarmers don't steer on a quarter-to-quarter look. At the end of the day, we are in this business for a long period of time. And that will also mean that in Poland, we always need to take a longer perspective on the results. So based on that, Henk, we recognize the risk, but we feel comfortable on the mitigation of the risk.

[Operator Instructions] And with that, I will now turn the call back over to Pieter Wolleswinkel for any final remarks. Pieter, go ahead.

Yes. So my final remark will be thank you very much for your attention. Thanks also for the questions. It also gives a good interaction to the meeting. And if over the coming period of time, there are any further questions, then obviously, you can get into contact with ForFarmers, and we'll be more than pleased to answer your questions. So with that, thank you, and I wish you all a very good day.

Hello, and welcome to ForFarmers Half Year 2025 Results Presentation. My name is Laura, and I will be your coordinator for today's event. Please note, this call is being recorded. [Operator Instructions]

I will now hand you over to your host, Pieter Wolleswinkel, CEO, to begin today's conference. Thank you.

Thank you, and welcome from Lochem. And as said, my name is Pieter Wolleswinkel. I'm sitting here with Marloes Roetgerink, our CFO; and Rob Kiers, our COO.

Today, we will present our first 6 months results of 2025. I'll start off with presenting the key events. Marloes will present the results, and I'll close off with a view on our management agenda for the remainder of the year. And after that, there will, as always, be the opportunity to ask questions.

If we take a look at our first 6 months results, we can be very satisfied. We see a strengthening of our market position, which is fully in line with the approach that we've taken as of 2023, a customer-centric approach, combined with strong technical results at the farmers we serve, and especially the latter is crucial, that is the fundament under our company.

If we take a look at the Netherlands, we see that the impact from the buyout schemes are coming in. That obviously also affects our company, especially in the pig sector. Yet we are able to maintain our volumes, our compound feed volumes through market share gains in all sectors.

In Germany, we've started with the joint venture, and I'll get back later to that in more detail. Then we announced an acquisition in Germany of a feed mill to produce organic feeds. We do that under the brand Reudink. And by taking this step, we are better able to serve local organic segments in this important market, so a good step forward.

We also see that the performance in Poland is strong at this point in time, and therefore that the capacity expansion, as announced, needs to progress and is progressing according to plan.

Then a special word on the U.K. We see an exceptional improvement of the results. And therefore, we're also pleased that we can announce that the reorganization is finalized.

Summarizing the results, we see a strong increase of our volumes to 5.2 million tonnes. The key drivers are coming from the acquisition of Van Triest with the co-products coming in, and also the consolidation of the joint venture is supporting the compound feed volumes.

M&A is an important part of our strategy, yet we've always expressed our ambition to grow autonomously. And it is good to see that on a like-for-like base, we are increasing volumes, 2.2% of our total volume. The profit development is satisfying. The costs are under control.

What we have said before, we take a close look at this point in time at our underlying net profit attributable to shareholders, and the latter especially given that a large part of our business comes from joint ventures. And it is good to see that, that profit is increasing from EUR 16 million to over EUR 23 million.

If we then look at the return on capital employed end of 2024, we were at 13%, and we see a further increase to more than 14% based on the results of the past 12 months.

Then looking at our sustainability agenda, we are making progress according to the 3 sustainability pillars that we have defined, so a lower carbon footprint, enhancing circularity and the protection of biodiversity. Some examples are given on this slide. And a few to highlight, for example, on our Scope 3 emissions, which is obviously the biggest part of our emission, we are investing in our factories to be able to process more raw materials that come from the food industry, co-products as we call them. Examples are crisps, but also dairy streams that come in our pig feed factories. And by taking such an approach, we can lower our carbon footprint.

This is also aligned with the steps that we are taking with regards to the circularity agenda as we have it. And obviously, the step that we've taken with the acquisition of Van Triest helps tremendously to use more co-products in our nutritional concepts.

The protection of the biodiversity, especially in the Dutch market. Obviously, there is a great need to make progress in the nitrogen dossier, and it is good to indicate that the Dutch chain partners have undersigned a feed covenant. Also, the feed industry has committed themselves to that. And so at ForFarmers, we are taking this very serious. We lower the protein levels in the rations that we make with dairy farmers. And based on that, we can lower their nitrogen emissions. So it is not the solution for the issue, but it is a significant contribution to make sure that farmers can make progress and also that the issue that we have as a Dutch -- in the Dutch market, that, that is getting towards solutions.

And let's zoom in on our clusters. As always, we're starting off with the Netherlands and Belgium. Obviously, the volume strongly supported by the Van Triest acquisition. But as mentioned, especially also satisfying to see that we are able to keep the compound feed volumes stable despite the buyout scheme. The basis really, at this point in time, the good technical results and advice and the competitive feed prices that we can deliver, and we are able to combine this with a very good profitability, and that offers the opportunity to keep on investing in this for us, a very important cluster.

Then moving to the east, the cluster Germany and Poland. Before I go to the details, I'd like to explain the steps that we have taken with the new formed joint venture ForFarmers, team agrar. So in this new joint venture, 3 companies come together. Obviously, our feed activities, also the feed activities of team agrar. team agrar is a subsidiary of the Danish co-op DLG. That gives in total 8 feed factories in the northern part of Germany.

Also included is HaBeMa. HaBeMa was already a joint venture by team agrar and ForFarmers, but it's now also fully included in the joint venture. HaBeMa is specializing at transshipment of raw materials that is done from 3 locations with access to road and rail and in Hamburg, also, as you can see on the picture, by water.

With that, we get a better geographical coverage. We strengthen our portfolio, and we can bring the power of 3 companies together. And with that, we are sure we will achieve the synergies to have a strong long-standing position in this important and large market.

Then looking at the results, starting off in Germany, we are pleased to see that also in this new setup, the existing businesses deliver the profit like they did before. So that is very good to recognize. With HaBeMa, we recognize an underperformance that has to do --- that the competitiveness of the exports from Germany and Central Europe at this point in time is at a lower level. So based on that, we also see that the results are lower than expected.

On the other side, Poland, we announced in our Q1 results that there is impact from animal diseases, especially from bird flu, as example. But despite that, we recognize volume growth. Based on that volume growth, that is once again a confirmation that we need to keep on increasing our capacity in this very attractive and growing market, which is fully aligned with our strategy.

Then moving from the east to the west, the United Kingdom. And with that, I would like to go back with you to early 2024. We were very disappointed with the 2023 results, and based on that, we started the reorganization. The reorganization had 2 parts: less overhead, that was already achieved end of last year, and also the divestment of 2 locations. First location was sold off end of last year as well and the second location is sold in April of this year.

So that means that the plan, as we have it in this reorganization, is now completed. And it's very pleasing to recognize that the results are at a much better level. We see that the volumes are good. That is partly a temporary effect because we pushed hard for production, for integrations, the temporary [ full ] milling integrations of parties with their own slaughter houses and often also their own feed factories. And every now and then, they need partners to produce feed for them. So that has helped us in the past months. But given the divestments, that will go to a lower level. But it is, therefore, even more important that we grow in the ruminant sector, which strategically is defined as key for our U.K. strategy.

We combine that with operating expenses that are going down and an improved capacity utilization of the plants, and that is all in all leading to a strong increase of profitability and a return on invested capital that has increased to 14%. And as you see, it was, for example, in 2003 -- it is very pleasing to identify that the effects of the reorganization are fully coming in.

I think that is also a good moment to give the word to you, Marloes.

Good morning, everyone. Following Pieter's update, I'd like to walk you through the financial figures in a bit more detail. In the first half of 2025, we sold 5.2 million tonnes, representing an increase of over 21%. This growth was largely driven by the acquisition of Van Triest and the consolidation of the joint venture in Germany. On a like-for-like basis, so excluding acquisitions, total volume growth was 2.4%.

Looking specifically at compound feed, we sold 3.2 million tonnes, an increase of 5.4%. On a like-for-like basis, this was an increase of 0.5%. Market positions have strengthened across all clusters. Our aim remains to deliver high-quality feed at a competitive price combined with ForFarmers advice. Our teams work hard every day to achieve this, and once again, they have done an excellent job.

Revenues for the first half of the year amounted to over EUR 1.5 billion, up 16%, primarily driven by higher volumes. Gross profit reached nearly EUR 291 million, an increase of almost 70%, 5% on a like-for-like basis.

Underlying operating expenses increased from over EUR 227 million in the first half year of last year to EUR 256 million in half year 1 2025, an increase of almost 13%, mainly due to acquisitions. On a like-for-like basis, the increase was very limited, just 0.3%. We saw merit increases, but this was almost entirely offset by strong cost control and lower energy expenses.

This resulted in an underlying EBIT of EUR 35.8 million compared to EUR 22.7 million in half year 1 2024. Underlying depreciation and amortization amounted to EUR 25 million, up EUR 5 million due to acquisitions and investments. This leads to an underlying EBITDA of EUR 60.8 million versus EUR 42.6 million half year 1 2024.

On the next slide, you find the bridge to the underlying net profit. Equity accounted entities declined due to the full consolidation of HaBeMa as of the 1st of March. HaBeMa also faced a challenging first half year due to limited competitiveness of the German commodity export market.

Underlying income tax increased from EUR 3.7 million to EUR 7 million, driven by improved results and a slightly higher underlying effective tax rate. Noncontrolling interest amounted to EUR 1.2 million in half year 1, resulting in an underlying net profit attributable to shareholders of EUR 23.4 million compared to EUR 16 million in half year 1 2024.

Underlying profit per share came to EUR 0.27 versus EUR 0.18 in the first half of 2024. ROACE increased from 10.7% end of June 2024 to 14.3% end of June 2025, exceeding our 10% target.

The total amount of APMs adjustments made to arrive at underlying figures is very limited for the first half year. I will provide the breakdown on the next slide. APMs related to other operating income includes a noncash gain of EUR 4 million from the consolidation of HaBeMa.

Assets must be revalued to fair value, which was EUR 4 million above book value. Additionally, our Burston mill was sold in Q2. The EUR 3.8 million of last year is related to the Piast acquisition. APMs related to amortization of previously acquired intangible assets amounted to EUR 5.5 million in half year 1 2025 versus EUR 4.2 million last year.

In terms of net financing costs, you see a charge of EUR 3 million related to the put option liability of Tasomix in Poland. Last year, this was significantly higher due to the Piast acquisition.

Now let's look at the capital structure. Total assets increased by over EUR 100 million compared to year-end 2024, mainly due to the consolidation of the German joint venture. This also led to an increase in equity, further supported by the half year 1 results. The increase was partly offset by the higher dividends. The solvency ratio stands at 38.7%, reflecting a healthy financial position.

Overdue receivables is 8.4% versus 9.1% at year-end. Net debt stands at EUR 43.5 million, a decrease of over [ EUR 23 million ] versus year-end of December last year. This results in a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.38, providing room for investments in growth.

On the next slide, we cover the cash flows. Operating activities generated nearly EUR 64 million in half year 1, a strong improvement compared to half year 1 2024, primarily driven by the higher profit and positive development in working capital movements. Investment outflows were lower than last year, mainly due to acquisitions in 2024. Financing outflows were higher due to increased dividend payments.

Finally, a brief note on the financial statement of the German joint venture. As of March 1, we fully consolidated 100% of the compound feed activities of team agrar and activities of HaBeMa. Previously, our 50% stake in HaBeMa was recognized via the equity accounted entities. From March 1 to the end of June, the contribution from these activities amounted to nearly EUR 138 million in revenue and EUR 0.7 million in EBIT. 50% share attributable to the other joint venture partner is recognized in the minority interests.

To compensate for the difference in valuation of the contributed activities, ForFarmers received a nominal cash payment of EUR 13.5 million, of which EUR 6 million was received in half year 1. As mentioned earlier, the transaction led to a one-off noncash gain of EUR 4 million reported as APM. The consolidation of HaBeMa has virtually no impact on underlying net profit.

With that, I'd like to give back to Pieter. He will guide you through the management agenda for the second half of the year.

Yes. Thanks, Marloes. Indeed, let's have a look at the management agenda for the rest of the year. And it will be clear that our key aim is to stay on this track. We're very pleased with the results and therefore, we'll continue the path that we are going on at this point in time. That means that the continuation to gain market share, especially, I would also mention, in a challenging markets like the Netherlands. The capacity expansion in Poland and obviously also now further work on the ForFarmes-team agrar joint venture to make sure the synergies are achieved.

Reudink, already mentioned that in my intro, strengthened our organic positions in Germany. Cost control will be high on the agenda. And also, we take a close look at the strengthening of our value chain cooperations, as an example, the relationships that we have with the poultry, slaughter houses in the diverse markets that we are in.

And last but definitely not least, we will remain with our focus on sustainability according to the 3 pillars: carbon footprint reduction, enhancement of circularity and the protection of biodiversity.

And with this, we come to the end of this presentation, and I would like to give the opportunity to ask questions.

[Operator Instructions] We'll now take our first question from Patrick Roquas of Kepler Cheuvreux.

First of all, congrats with the very good results. And I've got 3 questions for you. The first one is on the Netherlands. You mentioned the effects of the buyout schemes are coming in. Can you put some figures or quantification behind this? And should we see a more pronounced effect as of, let's say, the first half 2026? That's the first question.

And secondly, on Poland, you are expanding capacity. Could you remind us of the -- let's say, the total amount of capacity to be added? And when is this to come on stream?

And then thirdly, on the outlook, you provide us no financial outlook, which is fine. But can you share your expectations for, let's say, the different markets for the second half?

Yes. First of all, thanks for the compliment. Always appreciated. If we first look at the Netherlands at the buyout program, if you look at the program, it continues until November. So in November, the barns need to be empty as we call it. So up until that moment, there's still uncertainty what will be going on.

By coincidence this morning, I received from a farmer a WhatsApp. Also he signed up for this buyout scheme, but indicates, "I'm not sure milk price is good. I'll probably continue." So this is still the phase that we are in.

What we recognize is that the pig sector is affected strongly. The poultry and dairy is much to a lesser extent. So that means that indeed in the second half of this year, we will recognize that farmers will quit. That will affect, obviously, the volumes in this phase and also towards the first half of 2026. We will see the effect compared, obviously, to the first 6 months of 2025. So this is, let's say, where we stand.

On your question on quantification, that is virtually impossible. There's still so much uncertainty, who will stop, who will continue. So therefore, even if I wanted to do it, I cannot do it because basically there's still farmers that are considering what they -- what to do.

Then on Poland, on the capacity, we don't do announcements on that. In general, we do it when we acquire or when we really build a new factory. That's also what we did at the time in 2018 with the acquisition of Tasomix. So based on that, we don't give any announcement. But for us where it's about is that capacity is never a limiting factor. So we need to ensure that we grow our volumes and that the sales force is able to grow their volumes. So that is, let's say, strategically where this is about.

So -- and then on your last question, if you -- indeed, we don't give any guidance on the second half of this year. But I think you can recognize, too, especially also the market story from my side, the pluses and minuses. So indeed, with the buyout scheme, we see that now the reorganization in the U.K. is finalized.

We have seen in the first 6 months, the situation in Poland with avian flu, where -- we do expect that, that will take place to a lesser extent. So there are pluses and minuses in this story, which is, at the end of the day, also one of the reasons why we don't give any further guidance. But we feel very strongly that we are on track towards that what we want to achieve strategically.

And we'll now take our next question from Fernand de Boer of Degroof Petercam.

One is on the, let's say, overhead of corporate costs. If you look at that one, if I made a quick calculation, then it was -- the adjusted EBIT for that line was only minus EUR 5.9 million, significantly better than the H1 '24, but also H2 '24. So could you give a little bit idea what's going on there and how we should take going forward? That's the first question.

And then I'd like to come back on the joint venture. If I look at your minority parts, which was actually lower, meaning that you had lower minority result this year. So is this meaning that actually the joint venture in total was bottom line loss-making? And you mentioned that -- Pieter, that you were looking for to create the synergies, et cetera. How much synergies do you think you can get out of this joint venture? I think you can now better info, yes, on that one.

Then maybe the last one is on HaBeMa. You mentioned the market conditions, volatile results, but any outlook when you expect that to improve, maybe in the second half already or...

Yes. So I'll first reflect a bit more on the strategy, and I'll let Marloes pick up on the corporate cost question. If I look at the joint venture, indeed, we're not satisfied with especially also the HaBeMa results year-to-date, given the circumstances on the commodity export.

What I clearly would like to emphasize is that, that is not new. So ForFarmers has a participation in HaBeMa now for 18, 19 years. And in that 18, 19 years, we've always seen a particular volatility because the exports dynamic are playing a big role in that. And that gives pluses and minuses. And we've seen that also 2023 was extremely strong. '24 was more in line with the averages that we recognize. And I also give some words, therefore, with that. That is basically what we said at that point in time.

With regards to the synergies, I think we're still in an early phase. Obviously, we've made our outlook on the synergies that we want to achieve. What is good to mention is that we are pleased to see the results of the feed companies that are coming together, and that is especially also the base for these synergies. So far, so good, I would say it. And over the coming period, we need to see what out of the quantification comes back in that.

But also needs –- and that's also what Marloes said, that, obviously, we got -- given the valuation difference between the company, there will be a payment of EUR 13.5 million. EUR 6 million already came in. So obviously, we will see that as part of that, what you described. With that, I would like to give Marloes the...

So we try to operate as efficient as possible, and also, we want to do that at group level. So what you see is that we have local in the lead, but also make sure that we try to see, okay, are there any activities that we can do more efficient locally? We try to shift that from group to local. At the same time, we see that on a group level, we have a lower run rate and we also have some lower M&A costs.

And then maybe 2 follow-ups. I think, Pieter, you also said that you benefited, let's say, from lower energy prices in the first half. I guess you do kind of forward buying. So could you give any idea about what should be energy prices, let's say, in the second half? Then I have a question on...

No, we -- sorry, go ahead. Yes.

Then I have a question on gross profit. I think we did have that discussion before. If I look at the Netherlands, for instance -- and you say we have, I believe, underlying OpEx, EUR 128 million. You have an adjusted EBIT of EUR 20 million. So if I add those 2 up together, then I arrive at, let's say, EUR 141 million of adjusted gross profit. But then you report EUR 137.7 million. So what's between that?

Maybe you can repeat the second question, Fernand, if that's possible.

Yes. If I look at your press release, then you say my adjusted EBIT for the Netherlands is EUR 20 million. You have underlying expenses of EUR 121 million. So if I add those 2 together, then I'd say you have actually an underlying gross profit of EUR 141 million that you report and a gross profit of EUR 137.7 million. So what is, let's say, the EUR 3.3 million difference in that one?

Yes. So let me kick off with the energy question, and then I give the word to Marloes on the second part. So with energy, we never give any insights in the positions that we have, not for the raw materials, not for the energy position, because, obviously, there's also -- or there might be competition also joining these type of calls. So we want to refrain from that.

It is quite clear in general that also energy is part of our risk management. So I think it is clearly good to emphasize that especially, obviously, in the crisises around the Ukraine war in 2023. At '22, we have revised our risk management policies. And based on that, we feel comfortable to deal with volatility with regards to commodities, both the raw materials as well as energy. So maybe that on the energy question. And then Marloes, you can talk about...

Yes. The difference, Fernand, is on the incremental. The majority of other income in our reported figures are APMs, but we also have a bit of recurring other income, and that's in between.

There are no further questions in queue. [Operator Instructions] There is no questions coming through. I will now hand it back to Pieter for closing remarks. Thank you.

I would like to thank you all for your attention. And based on that, we will close off this call now. And as always, we will stay in contact in the coming period. And if there are any further questions along the line, you know where to find us. So once again, thanks for your attention, and I wish you all a good day.

Thank you. This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.