November 1 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian poultry producer Gradus [BUL:GR6] said on Tuesday that its two largest shareholders, co-founders Ivan Angelov and Luca Angelov, intend to exit the management board as part of an overhaul of the company's organisational structure.
In line with the best practices of Western European companies, Gradus plans to set up an advisory board to act as a corrective body complementing the board of directors, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
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As at end-September, Luca Angelov owned a stake of 40.77% in Gradus, while Ivan Angelov held 20.68%.
Angel Angelov, who also owns 20.68% in the business, will take up a seat on the management board. He will be joined by Bistra Kotseva, a senior executive at Karoll Financial Group, while Georgi Bobev, currently an independent member of the Gradus board, will retain that position.
The overhaul will lead to a majority of independent members on the company's board and is a logical further step in family-owned Gradus' development following its public listing in 2018.
"These changes are initiated so as to achieve a more effective and efficient management of the company in the context of ambitious plans for future growth and to build on the strong financial results to date," Gradus said.
Last week, the poultry producer reported an increase in standalone net profit to 11.7 million levs ($5.9 million/5.98 million euro) in the first three quarters of 2022 from 6.8 million levs in the same period of 2021.
Revenue at Gradus jumped 68.5% on the year to 12.3 million levs, even as expenses rose by an annual 15.5% to 619,000 levs.
The poultry producer owns eight subsidiaries - Gradus-1, Gradus-3, Gradus-98, Lora-2004, Millennium 2000, Zhyuliv, Gold Farm 91 and Gradus Logistics. At the end of June, company shareholders gave the green light to a first-half total dividend payout of just under 12 million levs from all of the company's units, compared to 6.99 million levs in the first half of 2021.
Earlier this year, Gradus announced that it has become a certified supplier in Europe of US fast food restaurant chain KFC.
At 1508 CET on Tuesday, Gradus shares traded 0.78% lower at 1.28 levs. The company has a market capitalisation of some 314.3 million levs.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)