AQUILA reports a net profit of RON 70 million

AQUILA (symbol AQ), the market leader in the field of integrated distribution and logistics services for consumer goods in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, concluded the first 9 months of 2023 with growing results, supported by the distribution business segment, which generated approximately 94% of the company’s turnover.   AQUILA’s revenues exceeded RON 1.7 billion in the first 9 months of 2023, marking an increase of approximately 14% compared to the same period in 2022. The company’s net profit reached RON 70 million, showing a 9% growth.   „We continued the strategy assumed for profitable and sustainable business growth. The diversification of the product portfolio, the development of our own brands, and the expansion of distribution channels with a faster growth pace were our priorities. The recorded results come to meet investors’ expectations and we will exceed the budget announced in April. In general, sales have an upward trend in the fourth quarter of the year due to the demand for consumer goods during the winter holiday season, and we are focused on fulfilling AQUILA’s vision of having at least one product distributed in every household. We maintain our objectives for organic development, growth through acquisitions, and operational optimization, including by signing a purchase-sale pre-agreement for the first planned acquisition, recently announced” said Catalin Vasile, CEO AQUILA.   In the revenue structure, during the first 9 months of the year, the distribution and logistics segments recorded growth of 15% and 12%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2022. Revenues from the transport segment decreased by 5%. The increase in the revenues in the distribution segment is attributed to organic development, supported by growth of 27% in the traditional channel, 16% in the petrol stations channel, and 15% in the HoReCa channel.   Sales of own brands, which include 86 items from the Gradena, La Masa, and Yachtis brands, exceeded RON 64 million. Recently, the company launched an integrated promotion campaign for its own brand of frozen vegetables and fruits – Gradena, which recorded a sales increase of over 58% in the first 9 months of 2023 compared to the same period last year.   The gross margin increased by approximately RON 40 million, advancing by 13 percentage points, and remained steady at around 21%. EBITDA reached RON 116 million, showing a growth of 5%.