Exel Industries, the French parent company of Agrifac, Berthoud, Hardi, Holmer and Tecnoma, reports a nearly 3.0% drop in turnover for the 2019-2020 fiscal year to €754.4 million.
The concern blames the knock-on effects of Covid and low commodity prices for the slump in sprayer sales to just over €332 million (€356m 2018/2019). Exel also sold fewer new sprayers in the home market of France, where farm machinery sales dropped by around 5.0%.
The group’s sugar beet harvesting division performed slightly better last year with sales up from €113.4m in 2018/2019 to €114.2 million last year. The market appears to have stabilised is the message, but Exel’s sugar beet harvester turnover is still down by nearly a third on the peak year of 2017.
