Almarai Company Announces Consolidated Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2017
January 20, 2018
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Almarai reported consolidated earnings results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017. For the quarter, the company reported revenue decreased by 2.6% to SAR 3,419 million during the fourth quarter, compared to SAR 3,509 million in the same quarter of 2016. The operating Profit for the fourth quarter amounted to SAR 599 million, a decrease of 5.7% as compared to SAR 635 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Profit for the period attributable to the Shareholders of the Company reached SAR 513 million, a decrease of 4.4% as compared to SAR 536 million in the corresponding quarter of the last year. Comprehensive Income for the period attributable to the Shareholders of the Company reached SAR 505 million, an increase of 66.9% as compared to SAR 297 million in the corresponding quarter of the last year. The decrease in Profit for the period attributable to the Shareholders of the Company for the fourth quarter 2017 of 23.0% as compared to the third quarter 2017 (Previous Quarter) mainly due to seasonality factors in sales. The increase in Almarai Comprehensive Income attributable to the Shareholders of SAR 208 million quarter-to-quarter is due to a favorable effect of Foreign Currency Translation variance due to Egypt, the favorable Movement in Fair Value on Cash Flow Hedges mostly from interest hedges, despite an unfavorable variance in Fair value of Available for sale Investment due to Zain. Earnings before Interest, Taxes and Zakat, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) reached SAR 944 million, a decrease of 1.0 % as compared to SAR 954 million in the corresponding quarter of last year.
For the year, the company’s revenue decreased by 2.8% to SAR 13,936 million as compared to SAR 14,339 million in the corresponding period. The operating profit for amounted to SAR 2,583 million, an increase of 2.6% as compared to SAR 2,518 million in the corresponding period. Profit attributable to the shareholders of the company amounted to SAR 2,182 million, an increase of 1.6% as compared to SAR 2,148 million in the corresponding period. Comprehensive Income attributable to the Shareholders of the company amounted to SAR 2,257 million, an increase of 25.8% as compared to SAR 1,794 million in the corresponding period. Diluted EPS was SAR 2.11 compared to SAR 2.08 a year ago. Earnings per Share based on the Profit attributable to Shareholders of the Company reached SAR 2.13 against SAR 2.10 a year ago. The increase in Comprehensive Income attributable to the Shareholders of SAR 463 million year-on-year is due to the favorable effect of Foreign Currency Translation variance due to Egypt, the favorable Movement in Fair Value on Cash Flow Hedges mostly from interest hedges, despite an unfavorable variance in Fair value of Available for sale Investment due to Zain. EBITDA was SAR 3,920 million, which is an increase of 5.5 %, compared to SAR 3,716 million for the corresponding period in 2016. The Cash Generated from Operating Activities (OCF) reached SAR 4,614 million for the year ended 31 December 2017; an increase of 3.2% as compared to SAR 4,472 million in the corresponding period of last year. OCF now represents 33.1% of Revenue as compared to 31.2% in the corresponding period of last year. Net Debt amounted to SAR 10,910 million as compared to SAR 10,883 million on 31 December 2016, an increase of 0.2%.
Almarai Co SJSC is a Saudi Arabia-based integrated consumer food and beverage group. The Group operates under the following segments: Dairy and Juice, Bakery, Poultry and Other Activities. The Dairy and Juice segment is operated under the Almarai, Beyti and Teeba brand names. The Bakery segment products are manufactured and traded by Western Bakeries Company Limited and Modern Food Industries Company Limited, a joint venture with Chipita, under the brand names Lâusine and 7 Days respectively. The Poultry segment products are manufactured and traded by Hail Agricultural Development Company under the Alyoum brand name. The Other Activities segment includes Arable, Horticulture and Infant Nutrition. Infant Nutrition products are manufactured by Almarai Baby Food Company Limited and traded by International Pediatric Nutrition Company under Nuralac and Evolac brands.