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CropEnergies temporarily pausing production at Ensus. One-off costs of up to EUR 40 million expected

Insider informations according to section 17 MAR

Mannheim, 02/18/2015 Insider informations

Mannheim, 18 February 2015 - CropEnergies AG, Mannheim, temporarily pausing production of its English subsidiary Ensus UK, Wilton. This decision has been made due to the current difficult situation in the European bioethanol market which the dramatic drop of oil prices in the last few months has exacerbated. Bioethanol prices reached an all-time low of EUR 417 per cubic meter FOB Rotterdam on 15 January 2015.

The devaluation of the euro compared to the British pound was an additional burden. The drawn-out political process in the EU to also increase the percentage of renewable energies in the transport sector compared to today is not conductive either. The production facility was brought off line a few days ago for cleaning and inspection. CropEnergies' other plants in Germany, Belgium and France are running at high capacity utilization despite the difficult market conditions and thus prove their leading technological position and competitiveness. As soon as market conditions allow, the English production plant can be brought on line again and the group´s full annual production potential of 1.2 million cubic meters can be exploited. The possibility of recommissioning will be continuously reviewed against the backdrop of upcoming policy decisions. CropEnergies had acquired Ensus in July 2013 as a contribution in kind for an equivalent for EUR 13 million and injected additional equity of GBP 70 million. CropEnergies expects the temporary shutdown to lead to one-off restructuring costs of up to EUR 40 million in the consolidated financial statement of the financial year 2014/15.

CropEnergies AG
Ensuring mobility in a climate friendly way - today and in the future - is CropEnergies' business. Founded in Mannheim, Germany, in 2006, the young and dynamically growing member of the Südzucker Group is one of the leading European manufacturers of sustainably produced bioethanol for the fuel sector today. With its production capacities of 1.2 million cubic meters of bioethanol per year, CropEnergies produces bioethanol which predominantly replaces petrol in four modern production facilities in Germany, Belgium, the UK, and France. The highly efficient production facilities reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70 percent across the whole value-added chain compared to fossil fuel. With the production sites, the unique logistics network in Europe as well as trading offices in the USA and Brazil, CropEnergies is one of the leading companies in a major emerging market. At the same time, CropEnergies is an important producer of food and animal feed products. The raw materials which are used such as cereals and sugar beets are completely utilized. As a result, more than 1 million tonnes of high-quality protein food and animal feed products are manufactured every year out of the non-fermentable components of the raw materials.

Through advanced technology and innovation CropEnergies contributes to ensure a sustainable mobility from renewable sources today and in the future through its main product bioethanol: mobility - sustainable. renewable. The CropEnergies AG stock (ISIN DE000AOLAUP1) has been listed at the regulated market (Prime Standard) at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2006.