December 9 (SeeNews) - Romanian integrated dairy company Agroserv Mariuta [BSE:MILK], operating under the brand name Laptaria cu Caimac, said that it obtained a 593,750 lei ($126,728/120,700 euro) state grant for working capital, which was supplemented by the company’s own resources in the amount of 89,062 lei.
The financing was provided as part of a government scheme which aims to help agriculture companies maintain economic activities and keeping or boost employee numbers, the dairy company said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
The state aid scheme is part of Romania’s Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020 and financing is partly secured through non-refundable European funds and the state budget.
In order to be eligible for the government scheme, applicants were required co-finance their projects with 15% of the requested grant, a May government ordinance shows.
The grants come as a relief measure for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in agriculture, fish farming, aquaculture, and the food industry, that have been affected by the pandemic.
Agroserv Mariuta debuted on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange in May 2021. Following the acquisition of over 5% of the share capital by local company Evergent Investments, Agroserv’s three founders hold a 71.6% stake in the company, while the remaining 23.4% are in free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
In 2021, Agroserv booked a net profit of 1.7 million lei, while turning over 68.4 million lei and employing 213 people, data from the finance ministry’s website shows.
Agroserv Mariuta shares traded flat at 6.2 lei by 0906 CET on Friday on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
(1 euro=4.9192 lei)