Agthia third-quarter net profit jumps 30% on revenue boost

Company says nine-month profit climbed 12% despite currency devaluation pressure in Egypt

Agthia's stand at the Make it in the Emirates Forum in Abu Dhabi. The company is transforming its operations to become the region's top food and beverage company by 2025. Khushnum Bhandari / The NatioShow more

Agthia, an Abu Dhabi-based food and beverage company, reported a more than 30 per cent surge in its third-quarter net profit as strong growth in its snacking and water businesses drove revenue.

Net income attributable to the owners of the company for the three month period to the end of September surged to Dh52.74 million ($14.4 million), the company said on Tuesday in a regulatory filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

Revenue in the July-September period rose to Dh1.07 billion, up from Dh953 million during the same period last year.

“Another strong and profitable out-turn this quarter, accompanied by continued investment in capability to future-proof growth” comes on the back of the company's strategy of “acquiring, integrating, and growing attractive businesses in value-add categories”, said group chief executive Alan Smith.

Agthia, owned by Abu Dhabi's state holding company ADQ, manufactures, distributes and markets a range of food and beverage products, including popular regional brands such as Al Ain Water and Al Foah dates.

The company is transforming its operations under a five-year growth strategy to become the region's top food and beverage company by 2025. It aims for an annual revenue of Dh6 billion in the next two years.

The Abu Dhabi-based company has also made several acquisitions in the past two years to expand its business, including buying Kuwait’s Al Faysal Bakery and Sweets, Jordan’s Nabil Foods, Egypt-based meat processor Ismailia Investments, better known as Atyab, and snacks maker BMB Group.

In December, it bought a majority stake in Egyptian snacks and coffee producer Auf Group for an undisclosed amount.

“We will keep developing the pipeline,” Mr Smith told The National earlier this year.

“We continue to look for the right opportunity at the right price, in the right market and in the right category,” he said at the time.

The company’s net profit for the first nine months of the year climbed 12 per cent year on year to Dh177.94 million.

Year-to-date revenue rose by about 11 per cent to Dh3.27 billion despite the impact of currency devaluation in Egypt.

Excluding the currency challenge in Egypt, one of the main international markets for the company, net revenue increased by 20.7 per cent and net profit by more than 27 per cent in the January-September period, Agthia said.

The company’s financial performance underpins the “continued progress against strategic objectives” of protecting its core business, its chairman Khalifa Al Suwaidi said.