September 28 (SeeNews) - Croatian food, beverage and drug producer Podravka [ZSE:PODR] is interested in snapping up a number of companies currently part of ailing food and retail concern Agrokor if and when they are put on sale, local media reported.
Podravka could be at the forefront of companies looking to purchase certain parts of Agrokor if such a situation arises, news agency Hina quoted the president of Podravka management board, Marin Pucar, as saying on Wednesday.
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"When it comes to these processes I believe that companies that have the biggest synergy and the greatest effect on the consolidation of the food industry are those that will integrate into themselves certain parts or individual companies and thus increase their competitiveness, as well as the export might of the Croatian economy", Pucar noted.
He added that 2017 has been challenging for the food industry, particularly in the light of events in Agrokor.
Podravka's first-half consolidated net profit plummeted 74.5% on the year to 24.8 million kuna ($3.9 million/3.3 million euro), mainly due to increased costs and lower profitability of Slovenian food maker Zito Group which Podravka acquired in 2015.
Consolidated sales revenue dropped by an annual 1.9% to 1.95 billion kuna in January-June, as a result of the absence of the beverages segment, which the company divested late in 2016, and the one-off income from the meat programme resulting from tenders for deliveries of buffer stock.
(1 euro=7.50012 kuna)