Agthia Group revenue up 10.3% at Dh2.2 billion in H1 2023

Abu Dhabi: Food and beverage company Agthia Group PJSC reported a 10.3 per cent increase in revenue in the first half of 2023 at Dh2.2 billion, and a 6.6 per cent growth in net profit at Dh144 million.

EBITDA growth was ahead of revenue, up 18.3 per cent year-on-year to Dh318.8 million.

Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Agthia Group, said: “Agthia’s results for the first six months of the year further demonstrate the management’s ability to successfully consolidate value-accretive businesses and leverage synergies while maintaining a profitable core, across all economic cycles.”

Alan Smith, Group CEO, added: “The efficiencies we continue to generate across our portfolio are enabling us to accelerate investment in capacity, sustainability, and digital excellence, while maintaining a robust balance sheet. An economic backdrop characterised by inflationary headwinds and currency volatility has required us to remain disciplined and agile in our execution.”

Revenue was buoyed by a strong volume and value performance from dates, and good growth in flour, the food portfolio, and international water, which cushioned the impact of currency devaluation in Egypt, price-elasticity in Saudi Protein segment and a more promotional and competitive landscape in Jordan.

Agthia’s balance sheet remained robust with cash and equivalents of Dh0.6 billion post Dh579 million of debt prepaid in the year to date. The group’s net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.9x (net debt of AED 1.2 billion) was down from 2.3x as at December 2022.

Agthia recently launched Agthia Ventures, a Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) fund, designed to expand its innovation capabilities. Funded by Agthia and its parent company ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, the fund will be managed together with Touchdown Ventures, a global leader in establishing and operating bespoke CVC programs for blue-chip corporates, with over 100 completed venture investments to date. Investments will focus on opportunities in branded products and emerging food and value chain technologies globally - for example in snacks and beverages, novel ingredients and proteins, innovative packaging solutions, etc.