Aquila reports 29pct increase in net profit on improved distribution business

Aquila, a leader in integrated distribution and logistics services for the consumer goods market in Romania and Moldova, ended H1 2023 on growing business and net profit, in line with its unveiled strategy.The company reported an increase of approximately 17% y-o-y to RON 1,122 million, driven mainly by a growth in revenues from the distribution business segment, which accounts for over 90% of the company's turnover.The company's net profit grew by 29%, to RON 42 million."In the first half of 2023, we achieved strong performance on all three business segments. The traditional and HoReCa sectors were the distribution channels with a higher growth pace. We continued to develop our own brands, focusing on marketing and distribution. With new partnerships, the number of points of sale through which the company sells products across all channels has reached 72,000. Operational excellence through efficiency, with digitalisation component and sustainability, are AQUILA's priorities," CEO Catalin Vasile says in the CEO Statement included in the company's report on the H1 2023 consolidated financial results.Within the revenue structure, all three business segments recorded growth of 17% the distribution segment, 27% the logistics segment, and 1% the transportation segment. Revenues from the company's own brands increased by 38% in the first half of the year, to RON 39 million.The gross margin from goods sold remained steady, at around 22%. EBITDA increased by over 17%, an advance of RON 10 million compared to the same period of 2022, reaching approximately RON 70 million.At an April General Shareholders Meeting, an investment budget of EUR 12.7 million was approved for the current year. By June 30, 2023, the company had made investments totalling EUR 4.1 million in transportation means, IT equipment, and warehouse facilities.AQUILA operates in Romania and Moldova, with an integrated business model, with activity on the following business segments: distribution, logistics, and transport. AQUILA sells consumer goods at over 72,000 points of sale across all FMCG retail channels, covering over 90% of the market. The integrated product portfolio totals over 10,000 products, well-known brands from different categories such as: personal care products - Rexona, Dove; sweets - Kinder, Raffaello, Snickers and Mars; coffee - Lavazza; cleaning products - Dero, Cif or Coccolino; pet food - Whiskas, Pedigree; hygiene products - Kleenex, Kotex, Zewa, Tena, Libresse; baby diapers - Huggies; frozen vegetables and canned food - Bonduelle; vegetable sour cream and vegetable whipped cream - Gran Cucina and Hulala; fish and fish products - Frosta.The company was founded in 1994 by entrepreneurs Alin Adrian Dociu and Constantin Catalin Vasile. Since November 2021, its stock has been floated on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), following an initial public offering worth RON 367 million, the largest initial public offering carried out by an entrepreneurial company on the local capital market. The company's shares (symbol AQ) are included in the Bucharest Stock Exchange reference index- BET and in the Global Micro Cap index of FTSE Russel.From September 1, 2023, the company's stock will be included in the composition of the MSCI Frontier IMI and MSCI Romania IMI indices as well.