Agthia Group, one of the UAE’s leading food and beverage companies, said its net profit for 2011 fell 25 per cent to Dh86 million ($23.4 million) compared to the year before mainly due to the higher soft commodity and PET prices.

Announcing the results, Agthia said the group's net sales for the year ended December 31 surged to hit Dh1.14 billion with a strong 14 per cent year on year growth.

The Emirati firm said over the last five years, it had achieved an impressive CAGR of 21.4 per cent in sales revenue and 24.3 per cent in net profits.

The results highlight the strong performance of consumer business division (CBD) recording a solid 18 per cent net sales growth year on year at Dh376.9 million and Agri Business Division (ABD), which manages the Flour & Animal Feed business, delivering a 12 per cent net sales growth reaching Dh767.4 million.

The year also saw the launch of fresh dairy products under the “Yoplait” brand, long shelf life 100 per cent natural fruit juice under the “Chiquita” brand, and fresh fruit juices under the “Al Ain Fresh” brand.

In December 2011, Agthia announced the acquisition of Pelit Su, the Turkey-based natural spring water bottling plant with direct access to a natural spring water source.

Commenting on the results, chairman Rashed Mubarak Al Hajeri said, 'We are very satisfied with our performance for the year in light of the challenging environment for food & beverage manufacturers which, among others, has been characterized by increasing input costs and regional unrest.'

'Nevertheless, business fundamentals remain strong as evident by the strong sales and volume growth across all categories during 2011 and this performance is consistent with our long term growth model,' he added.

According to him, a cash dividend of 5 per cent has been recommended by the board of directors.

Group CEO Ilias Assimakopoulos said, 'Our investments remained focused on growth opportunities, while we continued addressing the challenge of higher input costs by pursuing cost savings initiatives, pricing opportunities, and by accelerating entry into new categories.'

'We view such entries into new segments as strategic growth drivers and will contribute to Agthia’s ambition of becoming the UAE’s leading food and beverage group,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service