TRAFCO reports Q1 net profit of BD775 thousand
Manama : Trafco yesterday announced financial results for the first quarter of 2017, reporting a total net profit of BD775 thousand, up 12 per cent from BD692 thousand in the prior year quarter, despite recording a 6pc drop in total sales to BD9.8 million from BD10.4m a year ago.
Affecting the performance was factors including lower pricing for most of the food items, in particularly the prices for frozen poultry that consists a major portion of the Parent Company.
The gross margin, according to the company, was greatly stressed by competitive pressures as well as the availability of huge stocks, with prices of chilled and frozen red meat and in particular from Australia showing a general upward trend during this period.
Segment wise, the company said its sister companies and wholly owned subsidiaries performed well and contributed positively to the bottom line.
Awal Dairy Company, owned 51pc by the Group, recorded another excellent sales and profit in the quarter, as it expanded into new export markets, Trafco said. Its fully owned branch in Kuwait also performed much better in sales.
Trafco, however, claimed that factors including general less demand for red meat and a major change in market demand for chilled and frozen meat with too many competitions acted negatively for its Bahrain Livestock co.
As it is known, the company discontinued operation at its wholly owned slaughter house in Sitra and stopped importing live animals.
Trafco further revealed that Bahrain Livestock co. is planning to start a value-added section to serve hotels and catering institutions with different cuts and packs of meat by the beginning of second quarter this year.
Thanks to high demand for 200ml Marwa bottled water brand and infrastructure upgrade, the wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, Bahrain water bottling co. performed better this quarter. The company also said it is expecting to attain higher sales in the upcoming summer season and to export the product to other neighbouring markets.
While Trafco Logistics maintained its profitability this quarter, the results of Bahrain Fresh Fruits co. were still negative. The management said it is working hard to make a turnaround within the coming months. Also, Metro markets, another wholly owned subsidiary, that operates six retail out-lets have registered lower sales but made a profit though less than last year.
The group also added that its investment portfolio booked a net profit of BD572K for the period, an increase of around 23pc over last year’s first quarter period of BD465K. It must be noted, however, that the performance of the portfolio is rather periodical as it includes cash dividends received usually in the first quarter.
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