• Group EBITDA +15.5% YoY; with margin expansion to 14.9% (+68bps)
  • Group net profit +24.0% YoY; achieving margin of 7.1% (+78bps)
  • Full-year guidance[1] maintained: 10%-12% revenue growth, EBITDA margin +40-60bps, net profit margin +30-50bps

Cairo – Agthia Group PJSC (“Agthia” or “the Group”), one of the region’s leading food and beverage companies, today announced its financial results for the first nine months of 2024, marking a period of solid growth across all its business segments. Agthia’s robust performance positions the Group to meet its full-year guidance, with Group EBITDA and Group net profit outpacing revenue growth as a result of operational efficiencies and disciplined cost management.

9M 2024 Financial highlights

Group net revenue increased 10.3% year-on-year to AED 3.6 billion with 8.5% of the growth driven by volume and 1.8% from pricing. This performance was bolstered by strategic portfolio shifts toward higher-growth segments and significant innovations, which accounted for 57% of the Group’s total growth. Group revenue, adjusted for the negative impact of currency devaluation in Egypt (AED 264.5 million), increased by 18.4% year-on-year. Despite the FX impact, Agthia’s Egyptian businesses combined delivered 10.6% year-on-year revenue growth in AED terms during the reporting period. 

  • Snacking posted a 14.2% year-on-year revenue growth in 9M 2024, driven primarily by the strong performance of the coffee category. Abu Auf continued to gain both volume and value share in Egypt's premium-branded coffee market. The brand’s growth was further supported by the expansion of its retail chain, with 49 new store openings in sporting clubs, universities, and residential compounds. Al Foah’s performance in Q3 2024 was impacted by a later-than-expected date harvest. Typically, the date harvest season in the UAE begins in mid-August and runs through mid-November. However, due to weather patterns this year, the harvest timing has been delayed with lower overall volume. On a 9M basis, Al Foah has achieved significant value growth across retail channels, both domestically and in key international markets.
  • Protein & Frozen recorded a modest 1.1% year-on-year revenue growth, primarily impacted by Egypt's currency devaluation. However, when adjusted for currency effects, the segment saw a strong 21.0% growth. In Egypt, Agthia’s balanced pricing strategy and favorable product mix across domestic channels helped mitigate macroeconomic challenges, showcasing strong brand equity. In Jordan, market headwinds posed a challenge for the local business. Pending the recent startup of the new protein facility in KSA, Agthia has focused on growing export sales from Jordan into other regional markets, resulting in a 20.9% year-on-year increase in export sales (excluding Saudi Arabia). Agthia’s recently launched KSA frozen protein facility is gradually increasing its production volumes as it obtains the various approvals necessary to supply products to local quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and catering services.
  • Water & Food delivered a 5.8% year-on-year revenue increase, with Al Ain bottled water maintaining its market leadership position. This growth was driven by a 9.6% year-on-year increase in UAE water revenues, largely attributed to premiumization and innovation, including a significant growth of glass bottled water. The Home and Office Delivery (HOD) business saw robust 9.4% year-on-year growth, while international business revenue increased by 4.0%, with notable contributions from Oman and Kuwait. In Q3 2024, Agthia completed the closure of loss-making Yoplait Dairy Business in the UAE. While this has a slight adverse impact on segment revenue growth, it will allow Agthia to focus on core business and improve the overall profitability of the Water & Food segment. Agthia continues to explore new opportunities in the food sector that can leverage its expansive distribution network across the UAE. In line with this, Agthia signed a new distribution agreement in Q3 2024, becoming the exclusive distributor of Australian rice under the “SunRice” brand in the UAE.
  • Agri-Business achieved an 18.3% year-on-year revenue increase, with 4.6% growth excluding one-off wheat trading activity in Q1 2024. This growth was primarily driven by volume growth in Animal Feed as Agthia scaled up its business under the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority’s (ADAFSA) compound feed program. Feed sales through the Agrivita app continue to perform well on a growing userbase, offering end users added convenience and further enhancing the Group’s competitive advantage.

EBITDA[2] growth outpaced revenue, up 15.5% year-on-year to AED 537.4 million, reflecting strong profitability growth across all segments, driven by a focus on profit protection in Egypt and group-wide efficiency initiatives. As a result, the Group's EBITDA margin expanded by 68bps year-on-year, reaching 14.9%. Adjusting for the negative impact of the EGP devaluation, which amounted to AED 56.8 million, EBITDA growth would have been even more substantial at 27.8% year-on-year, with EBITDA margin expanding by 112bps to 15.3%.

  • Snacking EBITDA grew by 25.8% year-on-year in 9M 2024, outpacing revenue growth due to a combination of product innovation, premiumization, and strategic procurement initiatives in the coffee category. This resulted in a 163bps expansion in EBITDA margin. The segment maintained strong profitability due to its focus on premium product offerings and cost management strategies.
  • Protein & Frozen saw a 13.6% year-on-year increase in EBITDA, significantly outpacing revenue growth. This improvement in profitability was achieved despite input cost volatility and currency headwinds in Egypt, as well as external geopolitical challenges affecting Jordan. Agthia’s focus on productivity enhancements and disciplined cost management drove profitability expansion, with the segment’s EBITDA margin increasing by 137bps during 9M 2024.
  • Water & Food EBITDA grew by 14.1% year-on-year, supported by a continued focus on mix and pricing management, disciplined cost control, procurement and improved efficiency across our supply network. These initiatives resulted in a 114bps expansion in the segment’s EBITDA margin. Notable performances came from UAE bottled water (EBITDA +35.9% year-on-year). The decision to exit our loss-making Yoplait business resulted in a one-off asset write-off of AED 10 million, which negatively impacted profitability during 9M 2024. This strategic decision, however, is expected to result in annual savings of AED 5 million going forward.
  • Agri-Business recorded 40.5% year-on-year growth in EBITDA, outpacing revenue growth. This strong performance was driven by a continuous focus on product mix and quality, high factory utilization and cost productivity contributed to margin expansion.

Group net profit surged by 24.0% year-on-year to AED 254.9 million during the first nine months of 2024, demonstrating the Group’s resilience in navigating a challenging macroeconomic environment. The net profit margin expanded by 78bps to reach 7.1%, despite facing significant FX headwinds, namely from currency devaluation in Egypt, and the introduction of income tax in the UAE.

Strong balance sheet: Agthia’s balance sheet remains robust with cash and equivalents of AED 0.6 billion and total liquidity of AED 2.0 billion. The Group's net debt to EBITDA ratio stands at 1.4x, with net debt totaling AED 1.1 billion.

Full-year guidance[3] maintained: Building on the strong momentum across Agthia’s business and despite persistent currency headwinds impacting the Group’s Egyptian operations, Agthia anticipates full-year 2024 revenue growth between 10% and 12%, with a 40-60bps increase in EBITDA margin and a 30-50bps increase in Group net profit margin.

Strategic highlights

Strong progress was made throughout the year in expanding the Group’s capabilities and efficiencies to future proof the organization.

  • Leveraging Agthia’s Egyptian platform: Agthia continued to execute its strategy of transforming Egypt into an export hub – with export revenue from Egypt surging to AED 73.2 million, marking a robust 31.5% year-on-year growth. Abu Auf, a key driver of this success, has significantly expanded its retail presence since its acquisition. During this period, it opened 49 new stores, strategically located in sporting clubs, universities, and new residential compounds, further solidifying its position in the market and enhancing the brand’s accessibility across diverse consumer segments.
  • Investing in innovation: Innovation is central to Agthia’s goal of becoming a leading food and beverage company in the MENA region. Spearheading these efforts is the Group’s dedicated Central Innovation Team, which ensures seamless collaboration across business units, R&D, and external innovation. Impressively, 57% of Agthia's 9M 2024 growth was driven by innovation (excluding a one-off in Q1):
    • Snacking: Abu Auf expanded its coffee offerings with instant coffee jars and espresso beans to diversify its coffee portfolio while diversifying its snacking range with savory flavored popcorn, crackers, coated peanuts, protein bars, and nut bars. Date Crown introduced an organic date range.
    • Protein & Frozen: Nabil launched premium beef and chicken burgers in Jordan and a new frozen potato range in the UAE.
    • Agri-Business: Introduced two new specialty flour products tailored to specific client needs and launched the Agrivita Dairy Premix to support the growing demand for improved animal nutrition among UAE farmers.
  • Progressed the Group’s sustainability agenda: Agthia continues to make significant strides in its sustainability agenda. During 9M 2024, the Group achieved a 9.7% year-on-year reduction in CO2 emissions, underscoring its commitment to environmental responsibility. Agthia’s efforts were further recognized at the prestigious Gulf Sustainability Awards, where the Group received the Gold Award for “Best Sustainable Product” and the Bronze Award for “Best Circular Economy Practice”. These accolades highlight Agthia’s leadership in sustainability, notably as the first UAE-based company to introduce 100% rPET Al Ain bottles and close the UAE’s recycling loop through its Infinity Circular Economy initiative.
  • Accelerating the digital roadmap: The Group is making significant strides in its five-year digital transformation journey, focusing on enhancing customer experience and strengthening its commercial foundations. Agthia is evolving into a data-driven organization that maintains strong connections with its customers while ensuring secure and reliable digital operations. Notably, it launched its new B2B Customer Portal, which further streamlines how HORECA customers can order products. The Home and Office Delivery (HOD) application is consistently improving, now providing an even better and further enhanced user experience. The Group also deployed a first-of-its-kind date AI image recognition model in collaboration with Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and support from Next50. This AI model can identify and classify the major types of dates it receives from farmers that constitute its local supply network, building on the vast Agthia team expertise as being the world’s biggest dates processor. This unique AI model will continuously evolve, and it serves as the foundation for the application of AI and automation across Agthia’s value chain.

Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Agthia Group, commented: “Agthia's strong year-to-date performance reflects the strength of our diversified portfolio and strategic growth initiatives, even amidst global challenges such as currency fluctuations and inflationary pressures. Our ability to balance innovation, operational efficiency, and sustainability positions us well to navigate macroeconomic headwinds while continuing to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders. These results highlight our resilience and strategic focus on driving sustainable value across our diverse portfolio. As we look ahead, our focus remains on accelerating growth across the region and fortifying our leadership in key markets.”

Alan Smith, Group Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group, commented: “We are making significant strides in protecting our core business, benefiting from value-accretive M&A, and investing in innovation and capabilities. Our results for the first nine months of 2024 demonstrate Agthia's operational resilience and relentless focus on executing our strategy. We’ve delivered solid revenue growth and expanded profitability across all segments, with 57% of our growth driven by innovation. Despite external challenges, particularly in Egypt, we’ve maintained robust margin improvement through efficiency gains and prudent cost management. Our teams have exhibited remarkable focus and agility, fueling sustainable growth through strategic investments in our brands and people, capturing synergies, and enhancing operational efficiency. I am especially proud of our advancements in our ESG agenda, which are underpinned by strong governance and a unified culture around sustainability.”

The Group’s 9M 2024 results are available on the Group’s website www.agthia.com and at www.adx.ae

About Agthia

Agthia Group PJSC is a leading Abu Dhabi-based food and beverage company. Established in 2004, the Company is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and has the symbol “AGTHIA”. Agthia Group PJSC is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy. The Group’s assets are located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan. Agthia offers a world-class portfolio of integrated businesses providing high-quality and trusted food and beverage products for consumers across the UAE, GCC, Turkey, the wider Middle East, South America and Asia. More than 12,000 employees are engaged in the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of various products in categories such as Water & Food (Al Ain Water, Al Bayan, Alpin Natural Spring Water, VOSS, Al Ain Food & Trading Items); Snacking (Al Foah, Al Faysal Bakery & Sweets, BMB, Abu Auf); Protein & Frozen (Nabil Foods, Atyab, Al Ain Frozen Vegetables); and Agri-Business (Grand Mills, Agrivita).

For more information, please visit www.agthia.com or email us on corpcoms@agthia.com

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Ehab Rizk - Operations and Media Department Head· 
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[1] Guidance targets assume FY average FX rate of up to USD / EGP 40 (20% devaluation), no further acquisitions, 3M SOFR rates 5.5%, and no significant deterioration in geopolitical outlook

[2] Restatement of 9M 2023 segment numbers: Comparable period reported segment EBITDA figures have been restated for head office cross-charge in accordance with the new transfer pricing policy effective Q1 2024 to comply with the UAE’s new corporate tax law. The objective is to ensure LFL comparability of reported segment performance. The restatement solely pertains to the allocation methodology and does not impact the total financial performance of the Group.

[3] Guidance targets assume FY average FX rate of up to USD / EGP 40 (20% devaluation), no further acquisitions, 3M SOFR rates 5.5%, and no significant deterioration in geopolitical outlook