July 22 (SeeNews) - Croatian detergent and cosmetics producer Saponia [ZSE:SAPN] said on Thursday its net profit rose to 20.6 million kuna ($3.2 million/ 2.7 million euro) in the first half of this year, from 10.7 million kuna in the same period of 2020.
Operating income rose to 311.9 million kuna, compared with 262.2 million kuna in the first six months of last year, while operating expenses rose to 290.8 million kuna, from 250.1 million kuna, Saponia said in its first-half 2021 unconsolidated financial report filed with the Zagreb bourse.
A double-digit growth rate of prices of key ingredients and packaging caused higher costs on materials in the second quarter of this year, the company explained.
According to announcements by its suppliers, a further growth of prices of materials could be expected until the end of the year, which could impact the current price positioning of the company's products on the market.
The capital expenditure for the period under review increased to 16.5 million tuna from 7.8 million in the first half of last year as the company continued investing in production equipment, warehousing and logistics facilities, and digitalisation.
Saponia's shares traded at 620 kuna intraday on Thursday, up 3.33% from the last closing price.
(1 euro = 7.532 kuna)