German plant-based food producer Veganz Group AG has published its financial results for 2024, indicating a significant loss reduction compared to 2023.
EBITDA was €-2.4 million, compared to €-6.3 million the previous year; this was due to cost-saving measures and one-off income from the capitalisation of a receivable resulting from a capital increase in 2023. Net loss for the period was €4.8 million, down from €9.5 million in 2023.
In 2024, Veganz focused on transforming itself into a holding company with five brands — Veganz, Happy Cheeze, Mililk, Peas on Earth, and Orbifarm. Due to focused investment, in-house production turnover increased by 166% compared to the previous year.
Decline in sales
However, these portfolio optimisation measures led to a decline in sales in the old core business. This was largely due to investment expenditure and liquidity restructuring for the construction and expansion of production facilities for Mililk and Peas on Earth.
This meant that the significant increase in market demand in the old core business could not be met, and orders totalling €7 million had to be cancelled. Sales for the 2024 financial year consequently fell to €10.8 million, compared to €16.4 million in 2023. However, the implementation of cost-saving measures compensated for a large part of these operating losses.
Gross profit margin fell to 37.8% in 2024 as a whole, down from 38.5% in 2023. According to Veganz, this was due to start-up costs for the production of in-house products, along with economies of scale that are not yet noticeable.
“Clearly positioned for the future”
In 2024, food retail continued to account for the largest share of Veganz’s sales at 58%. The drugstore business was in second place at 32%, while the new food service channel was at 5%; these figures are all similar to 2023. E-commerce accounted for 4% of sales, up from 2% last year.
95% of sales were in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), and Germany was the largest single market at 81%. The remaining 5% of sales were in the rest of Europe, down from 7% in 2023.
In 2025, Veganz expects sales to be at the previous year’s level (€10.8 million) with a continuous improvement in the second half of the year. This is due to difficult market conditions, portfolio adjustments, and the delayed start of production of line extenders due to financing that has not yet been finalised. EBITDA is also forecast to be at the previous year’s level.
“In a challenging year 2024, we continued to successfully drive forward the reorganisation of Veganz Group AG and see a further increase in own production sales and an improvement in EBITDA,” said Jan Bredack, CEO of Veganz. “With our five new business units, we are clearly positioned for the future and, assuming financing, will be able to meet the high market demand in 2025.”
