Bonas - growing revenue and profit

Dairy producer Bonas achieved, in the third quarter, a net profit of 0.5 million lei, compared to a loss of around 0.1 million lei in the same period last year, while total revenues amounted to 22.2 million lei, 26% more than in the third quarter of 2022, according to the company's report published yesterday on the website of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

"Historically, during the summer months, for Bonas the third quarter meant a loss, but this year we managed to be profitable. We achieved this without neglecting the investments, so necessary to bring the company to the level of competitors and to be able to generate future profits", says the Board of Directors of Bonas in the report. "In the fourth quarter we again enter an area of general unpredictability. The new legislative changes put additional pressure on spending and will generate inflation, adding to the negative outlook for the economy."

It is a reference to law no. 296/2023, which provides for certain tax changes which, according to the latest Confidex study, carried out by Impetum Group, will have a negative impact on over 75% of the companies that fall under it.

"The revenue and expenditure budget for 2023 will be realized, but our main concern is that in 2024 the scenario of 2022 will not be repeated. The dairy industry operates with small profit margins and competes with all the players in the food industry, some having the price advantage, an asset when purchasing power declines. Last year, dairy processors were unable to fully pass on the cost increases, and a price war ensued, where everyone lost in terms of profitability," the Bonas report added.

In the third quarter, the company had operating expenses of 21.5 million lei, 21% more than in the same period last year. The expenses with raw materials and consumables amounted to 7.6 million lei, increasing by 20%, against the background of the increase in sales but also the fact that during the summer Bonas took advantage of the lower price of milk and produced more in stock. Personnel expenses, amounting to 4.8 million lei, are 33% higher, as a result of salary increases and the fact that the number of employees increased from 80 to 96, according to the report.

The company has developed its own network of stores, currently reaching 21 units in Cluj and 2 in Bucharest.

In the middle of the year, Vasile Naş owned 25% of Bonas while Marius Alexe had almost 11% of the milk producer from Cluj, whose shares are traded on the AeRO Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.