Nordzucker_GB 03-04_E_.pd 1 - Nordzucker AG

throughout the group documents the
high significance Nordzucker attaches to
quality production.
Operating Risks
The Nordzucker management system
encompasses quality assurance, safety at
work/health protection, and environmental
management. To fully comply with
our high internal standards and all legal
requirements, auditing and certification
is performed regularly on the basis of
DIN EN ISO 9001 2000, DIN EN ISO
14001, the EC environmental audit regulations
761/2001 (EMAS II), as well as
GMP 13 for feedstuffs. In 2003, the small
packing locations were certified in compliance
with the IFS Standard of the food
trade.
Financial Risks
Nordzucker monitors carefully all currency,
interest and liquidity risks. To safeguard
liquidity, we are converting
Nordzucker AG financing to a syndicated
credit. At the same time we are preparing
for Nordzucker AG rating and conversion
of the accounting system for compliance
with IFRS (International Financial Reporting
Standards) and IAS (International
Accounting Standards). This is to make
sure that the requirements of external
creditors can be fully met in the long run.
To minimise currency risks we limit
cash flows between our east European
companies and Nordzucker AG to the
absolute minimum. For the same purpose,
the campaign and any investment
programmes launched in Poland and
Slovakia are financed locally. The loans
raised for these purposes are increasingly
Euro loans, since as from 1 May 2004
both the sugar intervention prices and
the beet prices are fixed in Euro.
IT Risks
Nordzucker applies the latest standards
to safeguard the reliability of its EDP
systems and data stocks. We also consistently
use standard software and the
same hardware throughout the company.
This allows us to make use of innovative
technology without any problems while
rendering our complex EDP systems
manageable.
Political and Legal Risks
The countries in which Nordzucker has
either stakes or production facilities, and
whose markets Nordzucker supplies with
products became members of the European
Union on 1 May 2004. Uncertainties
remain with a view to the possible
revision of the EU sugar market regulations
as from the year 2006. Import
options for the least developed countries
in connection with the so-called EBA
agreement are expected to have their
repercussions, although the exact extent
remains difficult to assess. Not certain are
neither the outcome of the WTO negotiations
nor of the complaint by Brazil,
Thailand and Australia about EU tariffs
(WTO panel). For the time being it is not
possible to make an appraisal of the consequences
this will have for Nordzucker.
Nordzucker 2003/2004 33