Notes to the company balance sheet as at 31 July 2024
18. Tangible fixed assets
The movements in the tangible fixed assets are as follows:
| Amounts x € 1.000 | Land and buildings | Plant and machinery | Other fixed assets | Assets under construction | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition costs | 76.525 | 656.890 | 50.189 | 34.815 | 818.419 |
| Cumulative depreciation and impairments | -48.480 | -495.742 | -43.348 | -1.278 | -588.848 |
| Balance as at 31 July 2023 | 28.045 | 161.148 | 6.841 | 33.537 | 229.571 |
| Investments | 159 | 3.560 | 1.282 | 27.092 | 32.093 |
| Commissioning of assets under construction | 1.087 | 19.736 | 1.783 | -22.606 | - |
| Depreciation | -1.789 | -30.794 | -3.039 | - | -35.622 |
| Impairment | - | -145 | -578 | -990 | -1.713 |
| Book value of disposals | -152 | -641 | - | - | -793 |
| Balance as at 31 July 2024 | 27.350 | 152.864 | 6.289 | 37.033 | 223.536 |
| Acquisition costs | 77.618 | 680.171 | 54.062 | 38.039 | 849.890 |
| Cumulative depreciation and impairments | -50.268 | -527.307 | -47.773 | -1.006 | -626.354 |
| Balance as at 31 July 2024 | 27.350 | 152.864 | 6.289 | 37.033 | 223.536 |
| Depreciation period | 0-25 years | 10 years | 3-10 years | n/a |
Based on developments in the potato starch market, part of Royal Avebe's assets have been written down to their recoverable amount in this financial year or in previous years.
19. Financial fixed assets
A summary of the movements in the financial fixed assets is given below:
| Amounts x € 1.000 | Participating interests in group companies |
Other participating interests | Receivables from group companies | Other loans | Deferred tax assets | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance as at 31 July 2023 | 86.608 | 150 | 21.191 | 1.668 | 4.198 | 113.815 |
| Additions and supplies | - | - | 796 | 100 | - | 896 |
| Repayments and withdrawals | - | - | -4.173 | -1.443 | - | -5.616 |
| Disposal of a participating interest | -5.836 | - | - | - | - | -5.836 |
| Share in result of participation | 5.681 | - | - | - | - | 5.681 |
| Exchange rate differences | 316 | - | - | - | - | 316 |
| Movement credited/debited to the result | - | - | - | - | 846 | 846 |
| Balance as at 31 July 2024 | 86.769 | 150 | 17.814 | 325 | 5.044 | 110.102 |
As of July 31, 2024, all carry-forward losses are valued at EUR 2.4 million (previous year: EUR 4.2 million). The deferred tax asset is formed on the basis of tax legislation whereby deductible losses from the past can be carried forward indefinitely. Temporary differences are valued at EUR 2.7 million. It is expected that an amount of EUR 0 of this amount on the balance sheet date will be realized within one year.
The following companies are included in (other) participations in financial fixed assets:
| Name | Location | Participation in % |
|---|---|---|
| Aktiebolaget Stadex | Malmö | 100,00 |
| Avebe America Inc. | Princeton (actually Cranbury) | 100,00 |
| AVEBE Asia Pacific Holding B.V. | Veendam | 100,00 |
| Avebe European Sales Centre GmbH | Meerbusch | 100,00 |
| Avebe (Far East) PTE Ltd. | Singapore | 100,00 |
| Société Avébé France SARL | Evry | 100,00 |
| Avebe (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. | Shanghai | 100,00 |
| Avebe Italia S.r.l. | Milan | 100,00 |
| Avebe Japan Co. Ltd. | Yokohama | 100,00 |
| Avebe Kartoffelstärkefabrik Prignitz/Wendland GmbH | Dallmin | 100,00 |
| Avebe North America Inc. | Dover (actually Cranbury) | 100,00 |
| AVEBE S.A. | Barcelona | 100,00 |
| Avebe UK Ltd. | London | 100,00 |
| Averis Saatzucht GmbH | Visbek | 100,00 |
| Averis Seeds B.V. | Veendam | 100,00 |
| GFL Anlagen KG | Lüchow | 100,00 |
| GFL mbH | Lüchow | 100,00 |
| Stichting Averis | Veendam | 100,00 |
| Coöperatie JoinData U.A. | Amersfoort | 7,14 |
The Averis Foundation was founded on March 9, 2022, to date no activities have taken place in Stichting Averis. On September 28, 2023, the shares of Avebe Nisasta Sanayii ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi were sold to Brenntag Specialities.
20. Inventories
The inventories valued at lower realizable value have a carrying amount of EUR 7.4 million on the balance sheet date (previous year: EUR 15.2 million). The total provision on inventories amounts to EUR 3.2 million (previous year: EUR 4.6 million). The provision relates to products that were made as a trial product, products that do not meet the set product requirements or products that are provided for based on the age of the product.
The purchased emission rights included in the inventories have a carrying amount of EUR 6.3 million on the balance sheet date (previous year: EUR 5.4 million).
21. Receivables
All receivables have a remaining term of less than one year.
A provision for bad debts of EUR 0.6 million has been deducted from trade debtors (previous year: EUR 0.7 million). This provision is determined on the basis of the collectability of the outstanding receivables. The fair value of the other receivables approximates the carrying amount due to their short-term nature.
22. Shareholders' equity
| Total shares | Value | Total shares | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share Capital | 2023/2024 | 2023/2024 | 2022/2023 | 2022/2023 |
| Balance as at August 1 | 103.253 | 23.438 | 103.253 | 23.438 |
| Mutations shares | - | - | - | - |
| Balance as at July 31 | 103.253 | 23.438 | 103.253 | 23.438 |
During the financial year, 2,793 shares were transferred to other shareholders with the approval of the board of directors.
All issued shares have been fully paid up. The number of shares in-house is 16,395.
Share premium
| Amounts x € 1.000 | 2023/2024 | 2022/2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Balance as at August 1 | 19.848 | 21.396 |
| Received upon transfer of shares | - | - |
| Repayment from proposed profit appropriation | - | -1.549 |
| Balance as at July 31 | 19.848 | 19.848 |
The share premium consists of a free part of EUR 19.8 million (previous year: EUR 19.8 million).
Legal reserve
The balance of legal reserve for translation differences is:
| Amounts x € 1.000 | 2023/2024 | 2022/2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Balance as at August 1 | -23.472 | -19.989 |
| Conversion differences foreign group companies | 315 | -5.324 |
| Exchange rate result of hedging financial fixed assets | -129 | 1.841 |
| Sale of participation in profit and loss account | 17.102 | - |
| Balance as at July 31 | -6.184 | -23.472 |
During the financial year, an amount of EUR 17.1 million of the translation differences reserve was included in the profit and loss account as a result of the sale of the Turkish subsidiary Avebe Nisasta Sanayii ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi.
Other reserves
| Amounts x € 1.000 | 2023/2024 | 2022/2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance as at August 1 | 202.205 | 186.566 | ||
| Cooperative result for the financial year | 2.595 | 20.787 | ||
| Return on share premium | - | -165 | ||
| Final payment to members for the financial year | -1.038 | -8.249 | ||
| 1.557 | 12.373 | |||
| Payment received for surrendering of shares | 6.423 | 3.266 | ||
| Balance as at July 31 | 210.185 | 202.205 |
Distribution of results
The board of directors, with the approval of the supervisory board, in anticipation of the adoption by the members' council, has proposed to distribute the cooperative result after tax as follows:
| Amounts x € 1.000 | 2023/2024 |
|---|---|
| Final payment for members 2023/2024 | 1.038 |
| Addition to other reserves | 1.557 |
| 2.595 |
The proposed appropriation of the result has been included in the 2023/2024 financial statements
23. Provisions
The movements in the provisions are as follows:
| Amounts x € 1.000 | Transition | Onerous contracts |
Disposal costs |
Anniversary | Asbestos | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance as at 31 July 2023 | 4.151 | 190 | 11.600 | 4.477 | 4.341 | 24.759 |
| Addition | 1.999 | 2.861 | - | 660 | - | 5.520 |
| Withdrawals/releases | -2.847 | -190 | -1.863 | -516 | -2.391 | -7.807 |
| Balance as at 31 July 2024 | 3.303 | 2.861 | 9.737 | 4.621 | 1.950 | 22.472 |
| Current part | 2.722 | 2.861 | 1.000 | 388 | 531 | 7.502 |
The provisions are long-term unless stated otherwise.
Asbestos
The provision for asbestos costs has been formed for the expected costs of asbestos removal of a number of buildings at Avebe locations in the Netherlands. The cost estimate for this is based on standard rates and quotations received.
24. Debts to lending institutions
Refer to the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
25. Other debts
| The other debts and accruals and deferred income have a term of less than one year. EUR 0.5 million is of a long-term nature. The fair value of the other debts approaches the book value due to their short-term character. Refer also to the notes to the consolidated financial statements. |
Off-balance sheet commitments
| Avebe has provided the following securities to the banks: right of mortgage on the property in the Netherlands and pledging of inventories and receivables in the Netherlands. These securities have been maintained. | ||||||
| Guarantees have been issued up to an amount of EUR 0.9 million. Of the guarantees issued, EUR 0.7 million relates to consolidated participating interests | ||||||
| The long-term commitments in connection with operational lease and rental agreements of mainly industrial buildings and warehouses amount to EUR 82.2 million, of which EUR 11 million matures within one year. An amount of EUR 36.8 million matures between one year and five years and an amount of EUR 34.4 million matures after more than five years. Based on our cooperative model, there are purchase obligations for the purchase of potatoes. This concerns both delivery obligations and rights based on shares of our farmer members, but also contractual obligations with members and third parties. The size of these purchase obligations depends on the actual quantity and quality of the potato deliveries as well as the price to be determined for the upcoming campaign. |
||||||
| Avebe has entered into commitments worth EUR 4.6 million in the context of current investments. | ||||||
| Until 1992, Avebe used bills of exchange to pay potato money. An amount of approximately NLG 1.3 million (EUR 0.6 million) in bills from this period has not yet been collected. These bills are still subject to interest commitments. | ||||||
Fiscal Unity
Royal Avebe, with its 100% Dutch participations, forms a fiscal unity for corporate tax purposes. Under the standard terms and conditions, the company and its affiliated subsidiaries are each jointly and severally liable for taxes owed by the combination and for the processing of taxes within the fiscal unity. The parent company makes payments based on the tax results of the Dutch participations.
Declaration of liability
Avebe has issued a declaration of joint and several liability as referred to in section 403, book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code in respect of one of its consolidated participations. The declaration concerns Averis Seeds B.V. in Veendam.
Subsequent events
For the disclosure of the events after balance sheet date refer to note "Subsequent events" in the consolidated financial statements.