Agthia Group PJSC (“Agthia” or “the Group”), one of the region’s leading regional food and beverage companies, announced today its results for the three-month period ending 31 March 2024. Agthia delivered strong performance during Q1 2024, on track to meet its full-year 2024 guidance. The Group’s profitable growth across the Snacking, Water & Food, and Agri-Business segments, combined with leveraging group-wide efficiencies, resulted in both Group EBITDA and Group net profit growing faster than revenue.
Financial highlights
▪ Group net revenue increased 22.6% year-on-year to AED 1.45 billion (17.5% growth from volume and 5.1% from pricing), with strong performance across all segments, despite challenging global macroeconomic conditions. Group revenue, adjusted for the impact of currency devaluation in Egypt (AED -42.5 million), increased by 26.2% year-on-year. Q1 2024 revenue was positively impacted by AED 120 million in one-off commodity trading sales in the Agri-Business. Excluding this one-off, Group net revenue increased by 12.4% year-on-year.
– Snacking: Revenue rose 17.7% year-on-year, driven by robust growth across the Group’s snacking portfolio. This increase was led by the strong performance of the coffee segment, where Abu Auf continued to gain value share in the local market for premium-branded coffee in Egypt. The growth was further supported by the ongoing organic expansion of the retail chain, as Abu Auf opened 27 new stores during the quarter. Additionally, the dates category continued to deliver strong innovations across mid and high-value ranges, along with an expansion in date varieties and significant value growth across retail channels in the UAE and internationally (e.g. India, South Africa, and Bangladesh).
Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Agthia Group, commented: “Agthia’s remarkable performance in the first quarter reinforces our growth story, and underscores the unwavering dedication of our leadership to deliver sustainable growth across all business lines. As we pursue our strategic vision of establishing Agthia as a premier food and beverage company in the MENA region and beyond, we remain committed to delivering profitable growth through investments in capabilities and innovation. With this momentum, I am confident about our continued progress in the forthcoming quarters.”
Alan Smith, Group Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group, commented: “Building upon the exceptional results achieved last year, Agthia continues to soar into the new quarter with resolute strength. Our revenue growth continues to outpace guidance, reflecting the successful execution of our business strategies. Furthermore, our enhanced profitability serves as a testament to our unwavering focus on operational efficiency, even amidst persistent global economic challenges. These outcomes underscore the resilience and dedication of our team, instilling confidence that Agthia is strongly positioned to maintain its trajectory of sustained growth and value creation for shareholders.”