AGOSTINI’s Ltd yesterday reported profit attributable to its shareholders of $105.55 million for the six months ended March 31, 2022, which was 49.5 per cent higher than for the comparable period in 2021.
The company, which is listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, recorded revenue of $2.1 billion, which was 19.73 per cent more than for the six-month period ended March 31, 2021.
Agostini’s also experienced a 45 per cent increase in its profit before tax. The company paid $63.21 million in taxes for the six months ended March 31, 2022, which was 47.43 per cent more than the $42.87 million it paid for the same period in 2021. The company’s taxation rate was 30.18 per cent.
In the chairman’s remarks, Christian Mouttet said the Agostini’s group had a strong performance for the first half of its 2022 financial year. He said the group’s three operating segments delivered improved revenue and profitability.
“Pharmaceutical distribution and retail both performed well organically, with distribution having the added benefit of the Oscar Francois portfolio, when compared to the same period last year.
According to Mouttet, the group’s Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) business also performed well “driven by continued strength in our Trinidad operations, growth in exports and the recovering economies in the regional markets in which we operate”.
The company’s FMCG segment contributed 61.6 per cent of revenues and 54 per cent of its profit before tax.
He said while construction continues to struggle due to weakness in the industry, overall, Agostini’s industrial and construction segment delivered improved revenue and profitability.
“This was due mainly to the addition of the Procom business, which is in the process of being integrated into the recently re-branded Rosco Procom,” added Mouttet, in his chairman’s remarks.
Upcoming acquisition
The Agostini’s chairman noted that the company had announced on April 9, 2022 that it had signed an agreement to purchase Collins Ltd and its subsidiary Carlisle Laboratories Ltd in Barbados.
He said the acquisition is targeted to close at the end of June and “will significantly expand our regional pharmaceutical operations, and we expect will be accretive to earnings once completed”.
Giving an outlook for the performance of the Agostini’s group for the rest of its financial year, Mouttet said he is optimistic, but the company would remain vigilant as a result of the fragility of the global economy brought about by the Covid1-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
“These two events have caused significant supply chain disruptions and increased commodity and transportation costs, adverse conditions that are expected to continue into 2023,” said Mouttet.
The Agostini’s chairman said the directors of the company approved an interim dividend of $0.35 per share, a 40 per cent increase compared to the $0.25 paid in the prior year. The increased dividend is based on the company’s half-year results and outlook for the second half of the current financial year, Mouttet said.
Agostini’s Ltd is majority owned by the Mouttet family.
