UAE food and beverages co Agthia profit down 19.7 pct H1 2019

UAE food and beverages company Agthia Group posted a drop of 19.69 per cent in profit for the first six months of 2019 compared to the same period last year.

The company made 83.34 million dirhams ($22.69 million) in profit for H1 compared to 107.51 million dirhams for the first six months of 2018, it reported in a filing with Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The decrease follows a 27.75 per cent profit drop for the three months ending June 30.

The company behind Al Ain Water and Al Bayan earned 1.06 billion dirhams in net revenues for H1, a 5.4 per cent growth year-on-year.

The company said that “overall market erosion exceeded Agthia’s registered decline in value”.

“This is an accomplishment in the light of a persistent descent in market value of bottled water category in the UAE,” it said.

It added that its geographical and segmental diversification strategy played a role in contributing to revenue growth.

56 per cent of revenues came from its consumer business that earned 597 million dirhams and the remaining 44 per cent from its agri-business.

In the consumer segment, water and beverages made up 77.22 per cent of revenues. This business line rose 5.1 per cent year-on-year to reach 461 million dirhams, with Saudi sales growing 38.4 per cent.

Agthia’s food business, which includes dairy, bakery and trading items, posted net revenue growth of 29.6 per cent year-on-year. This was driven by “trading items” that constitute more than 50 per cent of its food revenues.

Revenues for agri-business, which include brands Grand Mills and Agrivita feed solutions, hit 465 million dirhams for H1.

The Group’s total assets stood at 3.1 billion dirhams for the six months, equivalent to a 5.6 per cent growth versus the same period last year.

Agthia Group is 51 per cent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi’s industrial investment holding company Senaat.

($1 = 3.6725 Emirati dirhams)

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