May 26 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's Agria Group Holding [BUL:AGH] said that its consolidated net profit jumped to 22.3 million levs ($12.2 million/11.4 million euro) in the first three months of 2022 from 7.6 million levs in the like period of last year, on the back of a significant rise in revenue.
The agricultural producer's first-quarter revenue jumped to 128.15 million levs from some 80.8 million levs in the like period of 2021, the company said in a financial statement on Wednesday.
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Agria Group's expenses also rose in the review period, reaching 105.1 million levs. The overall annual increase of 46% was mostly due to a 44% surge in the cost of goods sold, to 83.6 million levs. as well as a 37.5% rise in expenses for materials, to 16.5 million levs.
Last week, the Varna-based company said it will propose a gross annual dividend of 2.5 million levs, which comprises its entire 2021 net profit of 2.1 million levs together with part of undistributed profit for 2020, or some 414,000 levs. Shareholders are set to vote on the proposal at a general meeting on June 28.
The company will also seek shareholder approval to buy back up to 204,000 of its own shares, or up to 3% of its total share capital, at a price ranging from 28 to 33 levs per unit. The share repurchase programme will last for 12 months until June 30, 2023.
In the 2022-2023 period, Agria Group Holding plans to build a new logistics centre with silo capacity of 94,000 cu m in northeastern Bulgaria, so as to accelerate export activities. This would allow the company to seize an opportunity to fill a gap in the market left by Ukraine's inability to export its grain due to the war. The group will invest a total of 8.7 million euro ($9.3 million) in the facility, including 4.7 million euro allocated in 2022.
In April, Agria Group Holding added renewable energy to its activities in the agribusiness and oilseed trading sector, after its subsidiary Bora Energy acquired a third of the equity of solar park developer Energy Solar Technologies.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)