Strategic focus and targets for 2018

Henning Haahr took over as Group CEO of Danish Agro in the autumn of 2017 from Christian Junker, who stepped down after 30 years at the top. Danish Agro's strategy under Junker was focused on creating value for owners and farmers through growth and development, based on a group with healthy finances. According to Haahr, nothing will change in that respect under his leadership.

"My job is to further refine Danish Agro's strategy based on the culture, strategy and direction already in place. We will continue to take part in the structural development now taking place throughout the industry in Europe to ensure that we also continue to be an efficient, competitive partner for the farmers we work with," says Haahr.

"That means we have a strategy designed to retain our size in relation to suppliers and competitors via growth. That's what ensures quality products at competitive prices. Such growth can only come about on the basis of healthy finances, and we have a declared aim of getting our financial KPIs to be amongst the best of European agribusiness companies," states Haahr.

One of the future strategic priorities Haahr has identified for the group is digitalisation.

"The agricultural industry is in a state of rapid technological advancement, creating new, exciting opportunities for farmers. This is a process with the potential to create increased added value for farming, ensure better yields, better utilisation of raw materials and benefit the environment.

By focusing on digitalisation, the Danish Agro group wants to take on the responsibility of ensuring that the wide range of opportunities it offers can be of direct benefit to farmers. We don't have all the answers, but in consultation with farmers, we will actively seek to generate significant benefits for them," he states.

The most important thing for Haahr is that benefits for farmers are clearly defined in the digitalisation projects that the group has in mind.

"As yet, we have not defined a list of specific digital projects. I see areas we can handle internally, and opportunities for future strategic partnerships and/or investment in companies with a specific digital competence. But whichever way our decision goes, we will always seek to provide value for farmers," concludes Haahr.

Targets for 2018

The Danish Agro group sets high financial targets for 2018. According to Haahr, the existing business will of course have primary focus, and the group will seek to exploit every synergy possible from existing activities to ensure overall market strength is improved. That means that 2018 will be a year of consolidation without major acquisitions.

"Within our agribusiness markets at home and abroad, we will focus on ensuring that we remain a competitive partner for farmers. We will keep a close eye on trends within primary farming, and concentrate on being efficient, exploiting more synergies between our companies and offering expertise and service that farmers need. Within machinery sales, we will ensure improvement in profit whilst building an efficient structure," explains Haahr, and adds:

"The long-term goal of the group is to make our premix and vitamin sales into a global business. We will therefore also be analysing opportunities for future growth on the international markets in 2018. Our food product companies will focus on integration and the exploitation of synergies in their existing businesses, including integration of acquisitions and streamlining operations," he says.

According to Haahr, Danish Agro's objective is to realise the following financial KPIs in 2018: