September 9 (SeeNews) - Romania's agricultural company Holde Agri Invest said on Friday it targets a net profit of 8.8 million lei ($1.81 million/1.81 million euro) in 2022, despite a 9.2 million lei loss booked in the first semester of this year.
The net loss registered in the first half of this year is 13% lower compared to the same period last year, confirming the increase in operational efficiency with the addition of the fourth geographical core, which validates Holde’s business model, the company said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB.
You can download the 2023 Agriculture industry in Southeast Europe report here
The company booked a turnover of 38.2 million lei between January and June 2022, up 157% compared to the first half of 2021.
In 2021, Holde Agri booked a 7.3 million lei net profit, up by an annual 38%, an earlier report indicated.
"Compared to the yields per hectare obtained in the previous agricultural year, the Rosiori, Frumusani, and Videle core farms recorded marginally lower results, while the Contesti core farm, operated for the first time this year, recorded production above expectations. However, on a general level, we are confident that we will achieve the targeted net result for this year of 8.8 million lei, regardless of the challenges we face," CEO Liviu Zagan said.
In the first half of 2022, the company made self-funded investments worth 19.8 million lei and also borrowed money to upgrade current farms and increase the amount of operating property.
Besides operational activity, in the first six months of 2022 the Holde got around 21 million lei from investors in a new round of capital raising. Roughly 65% of the raised amount will be used to fund the acquisition of new farms, while 35% will be used for the modernisation of currently owned farms and equipment.
In the first six months of 2022, the company operated a total area of 12,300 hectares, an increase of 45%, of which 2,005 hectares were organic farming.
Holde Agri Invest was created in 2018 and currently operates four core farms in Romania's Calarasi, Teleorman and Dambovita counties. The company has a market capitalization of 121 million lei.
Its shares traded 0.89% higher at 1.7 lei on the Bucharest Stock Exchange by 1401 CET on Friday.
(1 euro=4.8936 lei)