Abu Dhabi, UAE— Agthia Group has reported an 11 percent increase in net revenue to $890 million in the first nine months of 2023.
Agthia’s strong performance in the first half continued into the third quarter, with profitable growth across the snacking, water food and agribusiness segments, combined with leveraging group-wide efficiencies, resulting in both EBITDA and net profit growing faster than revenue.
Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Agthia Group, commented: “Agthia’s third quarter results demonstrate continued progress against strategic objectives, namely protecting the core business, reaping the rewards of recent value-accretive MA, and investing in capability and innovation to deliver on its vision to become a leading food and beverage company in the MENA region and beyond. At a time when the world’s attention is focused on decarbonization initiatives across the region, I am particularly pleased with the progress made across its sustainability agenda and am confident that Agthia will continue to create value for all stakeholders in both the near and medium term.”
For his part, Alan Smith, Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “Another strong and profitable outturn this quarter, accompanied by continued investment in capability to future proof growth, is testament not only to Agthia’s strategy of acquiring, integrating, and growing attractive businesses in value-add categories, but also to the efforts of each of its valued colleagues across the Group. While sector-leading growth is an overarching aim of Agthia’s strategy, achieving this sustainably is of paramount importance, and I am pleased to see the good progress across our ESG agenda, not only through the wide-ranging initiatives and specific investment we are undertaking, but also our robust approach to governance and success in generating a one voice culture on sustainability.”
The group said its net profit increased 12.7% year-on-year to $56 million, with the faster rate of growth relative to revenue reflecting EBITDA margin expansion as well as the cumulative repayment of $253 million of debt in 2023 to date.
Agthia’s balance sheet remained robust with cash and equivalents of $136 million. The group’s net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.4x (net debt of $245 million) was down from 2.3x as at December 2022.
Progress was made throughout the year to date in expanding the group’s capabilities and efficiencies to future proof growth.