Majority state-owned National Flour Mills (NFM) yesterday announced a profit after tax of $10.2 million for the three-month period ending March 31, 2024. That was a 35.2 per cent increase in its profits for its first quarter, compared with the same quarter the previous year.
In the company’s unaudited financial results for the period ended March 31, 2024, chairman Nigel Romano explained the company’s revenue dropped by 10 per cent decline in revenue.
Romano said, “This decline in revenue was mainly due to the reduction in prices as we passed on the reduction in the cost of grain to our customers. Notwithstanding, we achieved a 14 per cent increase in gross profit of $37.2 million, up from $32.5 million in 2023. A reduction in finance costs also contributed to an increase in profit before taxation to $14.5 million.”
NFM dropped its retail price on flour items in July 2023 by an average of 10 per cent. This price drop came shortly after other flour suppliers Nutrimix and Sheik Lisha announced price reductions as well.
Two weeks ago, Nutrimix announced another price reduction, with products seeing costs slashed from 5 to 17 per cent.
In the review, Romano said the company was also paying attention to local trends and would continue to to monitor the geopolitical situation globally and its impact on the cost of grain and transport as he explained this added a lot of volatility to the company’s operating environment.
“We are also monitoring changes in the economic and commercial environment locally and regionally as we focus on offering valued products to satisfy the needs of our customers. In this regard, our top priority for 2024 is performance management to improved efficiency and effectiveness of all business processes,” said Romano, who stressed that the NFM would continue to focus on maintaining an acceptable level of profitability, which will allow NFM to sustain our operations for the long-term, invest in new machinery and technology and weather economic downturns, while meeting its financial obligations.
Romano closed, “The external environment will continue to provide challenges, and we will respond by focusing on what we can control. With the commitment of our team of dedicated employees we will continue to create value for our customers and other stakeholders.