At a board meeting on Monday, UAE-based food and beverage company Agthia Group approved a decision for greenfield investment in Saudi Arabia.
The board approved a Dhs90m investment for the construction of a manufacturing facility for Nabil, one of Agthia’s protein brands, in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
CAPEX spending is expected to start in the coming months, with first sales from the new facility expected to commence in H2 2023, according to state news agency WAM.
“Agthia’s greenfield investment in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia would enable significant progress towards our long-term profitability target and our commitment to deliver on our growth strategy to become a regional leader by 2025,” said Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, chairman of Agthia Group.
Alan Smith, CEO of Agthia Group, added: “Nabil Foods has a well-established business in KSA. This investment will allow us to further drive the growth of our protein vertical while offering the right product quality compliant with local regulations. The site design will also give us the capacity and flexibility to meet future market growth potential and will eliminate any future replacement cost in case of expansions.”
Agthia Group reported Dhs82m in group net profit attributable to shareholders for Q1 2022, a 64 percent increase over Q1 2021.
It also reported quarterly net revenue that surpassed Dhs1bn in Q1 2022 for the first time since its inception. The quarter ending March 31, 2022, saw a 58 percent year-on-year surge in net revenues compared to a year-earlier period.
Agthia’s consumer business division achieved a growth of 83 percent compared to the previous year, encompassing 75 per cent of total group sales. The protein and frozen segment contributed Dhs294m, driven by the consolidation of Nabil Foods and Atyab. Both businesses recorded higher sales growth versus the same period last year.
