Olam’s Food Staples & Packaged Foods EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) for the first quarter was S$85.7 million, up 7.1% from S$80 million in the same period last year.
“Our consistent performance amid challenging market conditions and uneven global growth reflects our sound business fundamentals and our diversified portfolio,” said Sunny Verghese, Olam’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “We are confident about our growth prospects, on the back of our acquisition of ADM’s cocoa processing assets, BUA Group’s wheat milling assets, our entry into the animal feed business in Nigeria and our new joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan. These initiatives will open up new opportunities and revenue streams as we continue to execute on our differentiated strategy.”
The company completed the acquisition of wheat milling and pasta manufacturing assets for $275 million from BUA Group in Nigeria during the first quarter of 2016. Olam also announced a $150 million investment into the animal feed business in Nigeria.
Food Staples & Packaged Foods segment recorded an 8.1% year-on-year volume increase driven by the West Africa wheat milling business and steady growth in the Dairy, Rice, Palm and Sugar supply chain businesses. As a result of higher volumes, revenue increased by 5.5% despite lower prices for most commodities within the segment. EBITDA increased by 7.1% with improved performance across most of the platforms. The Dairy, Rice and Palm supply chain businesses, wheat milling operations in Africa and Dairy farming operations in Russia showed growth in their overall EBITDA, while Packaged Foods and Sugar were flat.
“We are confident about our growth prospects, on the back of our acquisition of ADM’s cocoa processing assets, BUA Group’s wheat milling assets, our entry into the animal feed business in Nigeria and our new joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan,” said A. Shekar, Olam’s executive director and group chief operating officer. “These initiatives will open up new opportunities and revenue streams as we continue to execute on our differentiated strategy.”
