Mezzan Holding, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of food, beverage, FMCG, and pharmaceutical products in the Gulf, has registered a net profit of KD16.1 million ($53.4 million) in 2014, up 22.9 per cent over the previous year.

Announcing the results, the Kuwait-headquartered company said its revenue rose 28.2 per cent to KD182.5 million ($606.4 million) over 2013 even as its gears up for listing on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE).

Mezzan Holding generated around 75 per cent of its revenues through consumer-driven retail sectors, it stated.

Last year the company rolled out several key growth initiatives that ranged from new products and manufacturing facilities in both the company’s food and non-food business lines in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, it added.

Commenting on the results, chairman Khalid Jassim Al Wazzan, said: "Our performance in 2014 is a result of proactive business development, the introduction of a series of growth initiatives and entry into new markets, and the strength and resilience of the consumer sectors that we operate in despite economic cycles."

On April 1, Mezzan received a preliminary approval from the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority to list the company on the KSE following a secondary offering of up to 30 per cent of the company which is currently managed by Watani Investment Company (NBK Capital).

The company, which distributes over 25,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), targets to list its shares on the Kuwaiti bourse upon completion of the private placement and applicable procedures, which are expected to take place in the second quarter of 2015.

Once listed, Mezzan would be a quality addition to the stock market given the sectors it operates in, scale and diversified operations.

On its key initiatives in 2014, the Kuwaiti company said it had acquired Unitra Mets Group (UMG), a leading non-alcoholic beverage distributor in the UAE, from The Abu Dhabi Investment Company and other minority shareholders.

In April, Mezzan had commissioned a $12.5 million water bottling production facility in Qatar that will come on-line in the first half of the year. The new facility capitalises on Mezzan’s very successful bottled water business in Qatar, where it has the leading market share, by raising production capacity by 136 per cent.

In June, Mezzan had fully consolidated Kitco Group by buying the 49 per cent held by the Oberoi Family, Kitco Group’s founding partners and the Group’s operators, while still retaining the partners as operators.

Also Mezzan through its joint venture with Arla Foods had acquired distribution rights for Starbucks range of chilled beverage products in Kuwait in August, while the very next month it bought the distribution rights for Scholl’s, the renowned brand of foot care products.

Mezzan Holding incorporates 29 subsidiaries and is operationally structured into two primary business lines: the Food Business Line and the Non-Food Business Line.

The company is the manufacturer and distributor of household brands such as Kitco chips and snacks, Country Rice, Khazan meat products, Al Wazzan Rice, Al Wazzan Canned Tuna, Aqua Gulf, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Sara Lee, Betty Crocker, and Tabasco.

The company is also the exclusive distributor of Starbucks chilled products, Johnson & Johnson, Dettol cleaning products, Kleenex, Listerine, Pif Paf, Huggies, Clearasil, Neutrogena, Zyrtec, Tylenol, Olfen, Misporin, Gaviscon and hundreds of other products in Kuwait as well as Red Bull in the UAE.

Besides Kuwait, Mezzan Holding operates in Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.-TradeArabia News Service