Grup Şerban Holding - profit up 48% in the first nine months of the year

Grup Şerban Holding (GSH), a company active in several areas of agriculture, obtained in the first nine months of the year a consolidated net profit of 18.4 million lei, 48% more than in the same period last year, while operating income amounted to 437.6 million lei, up 3%, according to the issuer's report published on Friday on the website of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

The EBITDA indicator amounted to 57 million lei, up 27% compared to the first nine months of last year. "EBITDA continues to be the main key performance indicator used by the company, reflecting the economic sustainability of our business lines and the investment potential in new development projects," says Nicolae Şerban, CEO of Grup Şerban Holding.

The issuer's director mentions that, according to the strategy communicated at the beginning of the year, GSH focused less on increasing turnover and more on optimizing the margin. "This approach resulted in prioritizing a portfolio of products with high margin potential, such as vegetables. At the same time, the increase in cereal prices on the market contributed significantly to this performance," says Nicolae Şerban.

For the first nine months, Grup Şerban Holding reported operating expenses of 399.6 million lei, 1% more than in the same period last year. Expenses for raw materials and supplies were 36.8 million lei, down 32%, while other material expenses increased by 77%, to 1.2 million lei. Personnel expenses increased sharply, up to 16.5 million lei, 187% more than in the first nine months of 2023.

Under these conditions, the operating result amounted to 38 million lei, 36% more than in the first three quarters of last year, while the issuer recorded a loss of 15.7 million lei from financial activities. The group's internal structure is integrated and contains the following lines of activity: agribusiness (plant cultivation and trade in cereals, oilseeds and vegetables); animal husbandry (breeding of beef cattle and sheep); bakery (confectionery, public catering) and service provision (distribution and transport).

According to the BVB report, in the first nine months of the year, Grup Şerban Holding registered significant progress in implementing projects started in previous years. "Thus, we expect that at the beginning of 2025, the vegetable storage capacities, with a total of 15,000 tons, will become fully operational, along with a packaging line with a capacity of 30 tons/hour; in mid-2025, the project dedicated to raising laying hens, which has an annual production potential of 50 million eggs, will be completed," the report states.

Grup Şerban Holding is listed on the AeRO Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, but the liquidity of the shares is low, even though the capitalization is about 300 million lei, because it has a very low free-float, given that Nicolae Şerban owns almost 96% of GSH.