Mezzan Holding KSC, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of food, beverage, FMCG and pharmaceutical products in the Gulf, on Saturday announced the company's financial results for Q1 2019. Mezzan was able to record strong revenues in Q1 2019 driven by solid performances in both its food and non-food segments. Despite a very challenging 2018, Mezzan bounced back this quarter with all divisions recording strong revenue growth with the exception to catering. Mezzan also recorded positive revenue growth in each of its major areas of operations despite the numerous challenges still prevailing. This is a testament to Mezzan's basket of defensive product categories that have shown strong resolve despite market turbulences. Mezzan has also recently invested heavily in bolstering its production capacities and warehousing infrastructure which have begun to support revenue growth and operational efficiency. Q1 2019 financial highlights: • Revenue: KD62.6 million, up 6.5% • EBITDA: KD7.9 million, up 9.8% • Net profit to parent company shareholders: KD5.1 million, up 1.7% Mezzan Holding's Executive Vice Chairman Mohammad Jassim Al Wazzan said: Results came in line with our expectations and we are glad to see our performance stabilize after a challenging year. We have full faith in our vision and strategy and with new capacities now online we are able to further the growth trajectory for Mezzan. We are also glad management was able to resolve overcoming the significant regional challenges that have recently hampered our performance, specifically in the UAE and Qatar. Both these territories along with all other major areas of our operations have shown favorable growth for the quarter and we look forward to repeating this trend going forward". He added: Our strong balance sheet continues to allow us to look at new growth opportunities." Garett Walsh, CEO of Mezzan Holding said "we are focused on restoring performance in our operations and ensuring our new production capacities are progressing in line with expectations. We had a very challenging 2018 but we hope this performance in Q1 continues going forward. Both Food and Non-Food showed favorable growth, off a strong Q1 2018, on the back of restored regional performance and a strong showing from our newly inaugurated projects." In KSA, Q1 revenue increased by 19.1% as chips sales pick up. In Kuwait, Q1 revenue grew by 2.9% due to strong performance in Food M&D, Services and FMCG. In UAE, Q1 revenue increased by 26.2% as performance gets restored gradually. In Qatar: Q1 revenue grew by 9.1% driven by strong performance from catering. In Jordan, Q1 revenue increased by 30.4% In Iraq, Q1 Revenue declined by 65.9%. In Afghanistan, Q1 revenue increased by 35.5% due to increased sales in the fruits and vegetables business. Food Business Line: Total Revenue for the Food Business Line reached KD42.6 million, a steady increase of 6.8% compared with the same period in 2018. The Food Business Line accounted for 68.0% of Group Revenue. The Business Line comprises the following three divisions: Manufacturing and Distribution (generating 47.7% of Group Revenue), Catering (generating 14.1% of Group Revenue) and Services (generating 6.2% of Group Revenue). • Manufacturing and Distribution: Q1 revenue increased 11.0%. • Catering: Q1 Revenue declined by 7.5%. • Services: Q1 Revenue increased by 13.6%. Non-Food Business Line: Revenue reached KD20.1 million, an increase of 6.1% compared with the same period in 2019. The Non-Food Business Line accounted for 32.0% of Group Revenue. The Business Lines comprises the following divisions: FMCG and Pharmaceuticals business division (generating 29.7% of Group Revenue) and Industrials (generating 2.3%). FMCG and Pharmaceuticals: Q1 revenue increased by 6.4%. Industrials: Q1 revenue increased by 1.5%. — SG
