Westfleisch temporarily with dual leadership
The three-person executive board of Westfleisch is temporarily turning into a dual leadership: At yesterday's general assembly, the chairman of the supervisory board, Josef Lehmenkühler, reported that the meat marketer from Münster and his board member Steen Sönnichsen will go their separate ways in the future: “In the past three and a half years we have been able to achieve a lot together for that we are very grateful to Steen Sönnichsen. "
The cooperative is accordingly well equipped for the tasks of the coming months and years, but these "will certainly not be easier - on the contrary," emphasized Lehmenkühler. "In this situation it is essential that the management of our company is in agreement on how and in what way we want to shape the future of our cooperative." In the past few months, Steen Sönnichsen's ideas have deviated more and more from those of the others . "On the one hand that is regrettable, on the other hand it is nothing unusual," explained Lehmenkühler. “It is a development that occurs again and again in companies. Only, and this is the important thing: if this unity is no longer there, you should part ways. ”Lehmenkühler Sönnichsen wished“ all the best ”for his professional and private future. Sönnichsen's tasks will initially be taken over by his previous board colleagues Carsten Schruck and Johannes Steinhoff. In the long term, the executive board will again be filled with three people.
At the general assembly, CFO Carsten Schruck reported that Westfleisch had “mastered the challenging year 2020 properly.” In fact, the slaughter figures with a good 7,5 million pigs and around 436.000 cattle were again decoupled from the negative industry trend; Sales increased by 2019 percent compared to 1,3 to 2,83 billion euros. In addition, despite high additional costs in the wake of the corona pandemic and the African swine fever, the annual surplus fell by just 2,6 million euros to 8,1 million euros. The around 4.800 agricultural members and shareholders of the cooperative also benefit from this: As the meeting decided, they will receive a dividend of 4,2 percent on their business assets as well as other special bonuses.
Unsatisfactory start to the year
At the Annual General Meeting, Schruck and Steinhoff also reported an economically "rather unsatisfactory start to the year 2021". "The closed hotels and restaurants, the empty canteens and the difficult export situation put some pressure on our sales," said Johannes Steinhoff. The business with the food retail trade, which is still going well, is by no means able to compensate for this downward trend. After all, the rainy spring and the pandemic-related contact restrictions led to an almost complete failure of the important barbecue business; In addition, cost increases were an additional burden in many places.
“But there are also points that make us more optimistic,” emphasized Schruck. "The third wave has broken, the catering and hotel business will pick up speed, the weather will be better, the grill business will still grow." Nevertheless, it is clear: "This year it will be even more challenging than in 2020. But the knowledge of the strength of the entire Westfleisch team allows us to look confidently into the coming months! "
Westfleisch General Assembly 2021, Image Copyright: Westfleisch
