Romania's Holde Agri Invest swings to 9-mo net loss

The loss was driven by high crop initiation costs and harvest market rates that were up to half the average prices recorded in 2022, Holde Agri said in a financial report filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Holde Agri's revenue declined by 11% year-on-year to 76.6 million lei due to a significant decrease in the average quotations of agricultural products on international markets. This negated the benefits of an expanded cultivation area and increased commercial production.

The company's agricultural output rose by an annual 31% to 56,550 tonnes in the nine months through September, despite weather conditions that were inferior to both 2022 and 2021. The land under exploitation increased by 11% year-on-year to 13,700 hectares in January-September.

Holde Agri's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) turned to a loss of 7 million lei in the first nine months of 2023, from a profit of 11.2 million lei in the corresponding period of last year.

In the initial nine months of the year, Holde Agri allocated 27.7 million lei from internal resources and borrowed capital for investments. These focused on core farm acquisitions in Salcia, completing the purchase of a farm in Contesti, buying additional land, expanding the company's silage capacity, and procuring technological equipment.

Holde Agri Invest was established in 2018 and currently operates 16 entities in the agricultural sector, of which 14 are technical crop farms in the counties of Teleorman, Dambovita, Calarasi, and Braila.

The company is expecting a net loss of 30.2 million lei in 2023 on revenue of 88.5 million lei, according to a forecast filed with the Bucharest bourse on November 7.

Holde Agri Invest shares traded 2.73% lower at 0.928 lei as of 1215 CET on Thursday on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

(1 euro=4.971 lei)