"We are very pleased with our excellent annual result, as it shows how DSV can hold its own in a challenging environment with good varieties from our own breeding and innovative cultivation systems. Always looking to the future and with ‘an ear to the ground' - that is our recipe for success. The motto of our current image campaign, which we are using to mark our 100th anniversary in 2023, is 'Let's all get back to the soil'. This is because we have always worked with a down-to-earth attitude and foresight, and with our work we contribute to soil health and thus to the sustainable success of agriculture," says Dr. Eike Hupe, Executive Board Member responsible for Sales, Product Management, Marketing, Breeding and Customer Service.

 

Business development

The DSV Group's sales revenue increased in the 2021/22 financial year from EUR 208.5 million in the previous year to EUR 240.6 million (+15%). In the German parent company, sales increased by 12% to EUR 214.2 million. Earnings before taxes (EBT) amounted to EUR 15.5 million (previous year: EUR 7.4 million) in the German parent company and thus also increased significantly. EBT of EUR 17.9 million was achieved in the Group (previous year: EUR 7.5 million). The total investment volume in the 2021/2022 business year was EUR 16.1 million (previous year: EUR 7.5 million). The main focus of investments was the acquisition of Northstar Seeds Ltd, Neepawa/Manitoba Canada, and the further modernisation of breeding facilities and production plants at the various DSV locations.

Securing the future through internationalisation
"Further internationalisation is one of our most important goals to strengthen our competitiveness. With the acquisition of the Canadian company Northstar Seeds Ltd, Neepawa/Manitoba on 1 July 2022, we are expanding our presence in North America, including crops such as alfalfa, in which the DSV Group has as yet been underrepresented. An additional plus is the safeguarding of our production in Europe. DSV now has independent subsidiaries in Europe, South and as well as North America and is thus successively implementing its goals", says Executive Board Member Clive Krückemeyer, responsible within the company for Finance, Human Resources, Purchasing and Production.

Preview
The 2022/23 business year is characterised by uncertainties over the entire agricultural sector: among other things, the inflationary development of raw materials and energy costs, further unpredictable influences due to the war in Ukraine, reduced availability of funds in crop protection and climate change. This makes it all the more vital to continue to invest in research and development in order to continue breeding and marketing climate-stable and healthy varieties for the success of farmers, says DSV.

What is on offer
In the field of winter oilseed rape, DSV benefits from very successful long-term breeding work that is clearly focused on yield and plant health. For example, three new DSV varieties have been approved by the Bundessortenamt in Germany, and four of the top 10 varieties in the German market originate from DSV breeding. One innovation from DSV winter oilseed rape breeding is the novel combination of phoma-lingam resistance genes. DRIFTER, the first variety with this "Phoma Blocker", was approved and marketed in France in summer 2022.

The winter barley varieties ESPRIT and JULIA also demonstrate the company's successful cereal breeding with their good results in Germany. In wheat, DEBIAN enriches the new DSV portfolio as a high-yielding baking wheat with resistance to the orange wheat gall midge. In Great Britain and the Netherlands, the new DSV winter wheat variety CHAMPION is very successful and well established in the market.

In the field of forage grasses and legumes, DSV continues to focus its breeding on high yield performance with special forage quality in harmony with variety health and nutrient efficiency. Milk Index varieties - grass varieties with particularly high digestibility - are becoming increasingly important for dairy farms in order to achieve high milk yields with the best forage. The DSV COUNTRY forage programme offers quality mixtures for every requirement. COUNTRY is successfully marketed by DSV in various European countries.

DSV is not only a breeder, but an innovator in the development of new, intelligent cultivation systems. These systems take on many functions, such as increasing biodiversity, promoting soil health and thus soil fertility. DSV's know-how is the key to the success of the TerraLife® catch crop programme. The focus is currently on further development from pure intercropping to diverse solutions for evergreen crop rotations.

The Deutsche Saatveredelung AG (DSV)
DSV is a traditional plant breeding and seed company with headquarters in Lippstadt, Germany. Research, breeding, production and distribution of various crops are the aim of the company, whose roots go back 100 years. Around 500 employees work in Germany. The group employs around 750 people.

DSV has major shareholdings in well-known seed companies in Germany and abroad and has wholly owned subsidiaries in Denmark, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Argentina, Canada and Ukraine.

The DSV Group includes the following companies, which are fully included in the consolidated financial statements:

Deutsche Saatveredelung AG, Lippstadt (parent company)
DSV France S.a.r.l., Terminiers/France
DSV Frø Danmark A/S, Holstebro/Denmark
DSV Polska Sp.z o.o., Wagrowiec/Poland
DSV United Kingdom Ltd, Wardington/Great Britain
TOV DSV-Ukraina, Kiev/Ukraine
DSV zaden Nederland B.V., Ven Zelderheide/Netherlands
In addition, DL Seeds Inc., Morden/Canada is included in the consolidated financial statements on a pro rata basis.

DSV Northstar, formally Northstar Seed Ltd, is part of the DSV Group since 01.07.2022.

 

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