April 21 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian producer and distributor of organic products Smart Organic will invest 5 million levs ($2.8 million/2.6 million euro) in the construction of a new plant for bio foods in Bozhurishte, in the outskirts of Sofia, the innovation ministry said on Thursday.
The investment will create15 new jobs at the company, the innovation ministry said in a statement.
Last year, Smart Organic announced its plans for the opening of a 12,000 sq m production plant in Bozhurishte Industrial Zone. The start of construction works is scheduled for July 2022, the company's founder and owner Yani Dragov said at the time.
The company is currently making most of its products at its own factory in Sofia which spreads on more than 6,000 sq.m.
Smart Organic said earlier this week that its consolidated sales revenue increased by 10% on the year in the first quarter of 2022, to 11.85 million levs, although fraught market conditions led to growth below expectations.
As at 14:50 CET on Thursday, shares in Smart Organic traded flat at 16 levs of the Sofia bourse.
Smart Organic raised some 5.9 million levs in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in November 2021
Smart Organic was founded in Sofia in 2009 and is currently among the leading producers and distributors of organic food in Europe. Through its network of distributors and retailers, the company's products are available in more than 60 countries worldwide - in the EU, as well as in Asia and the Americas, according to information published on Smart Organic's website.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)