Nordzucker slips into the red due to sugar oversupply

Sugar producer Nordzucker closed the 2025/26 financial year with a substantial operating loss of €226 million. According to the company, two exceptionally good beet harvests in Europe, high inventories and sharply lower sugar prices are mainly responsible for the poor results. Nordzucker speaks of an 'exceptionally challenging market situation'. Two consecutive record harvests created a significant sugar surplus within Europe. At the same time, sugar consumption declined and world market prices also fell due to high global production volumes. The company produced about 2.8 million tonnes of sugar from beets during the past campaign. Subsidiary Mackay Sugar in Australia also produced 0.6 million tonnes of raw sugar from sugarcane. Total revenue fell from €2.77 billion to €2.34 billion. According to CEO Lars Gorissen, price fluctuations are part of the sugar market, but the current situation is exceptionally severe. That is why the company is intervening with cost savings and adjustments to the factory structure. Fewer sugar beets To rebalance the market, Nordzucker has reduced the beet area again. The company expects supply and demand to align better in the coming years as a result and sugar prices to recover gradually. This is in line with broader developments in Europe, where several sugar companies are focusing on reducing acreage to limit further price pressure. New pricing model for beet growers Notably, Nordzucker has introduced a new pricing model for sugar beets in Germany together with growers. That model should be able to respond more flexibly to market developments. According to the company, cooperation with growers is crucial to keep beet cultivation future-proof. The new pricing model for sugar beets in Germany is an important step. It strengthens sustainable sugar beet cultivation in Europe, Gorissen emphasizes. Careful recovery expected For the current financial year, Nordzucker still expects red figures, although the losses are expected to be smaller. The company aims to be profitable again in 2027/28. That recovery must come from lower costs, more efficient production and an improved sugar price.