The Board of Directors of Unimer SA convened on Friday, September 20, 2024, under the chairmanship of Mehdi Alj to review the company’s financial statements for the first half of 2024.
Performance overview
In the first half of 2024, Unimer’s semi-preserved products division benefitted from a successful anchovy fishing season, with landings increasing by +72%. This contributed significantly to higher production and sales volumes across all subsidiaries. However, the canned products division faced challenges, with sardine landings dropping by -29.4%, driven by a persistent shortage, irregular volumes, and varying quality. These issues negatively impacted the company’s overall performance in the first half of the year.
Financial indicators (standalone)
- Revenue: Unimer SA reported a revenue of 347 million dirhams in H1 2024, down from 416 million dirhams in H1 2023. This decline was due to a slowdown in the canned products segment, attributed to a poor sardine fishing season, despite strong growth in the semi-preserved segment driven by dynamic commercial development and favorable pricing.
- EBITDA: The company’s EBITDA fell sharply to 1 million dirhams from 12 million dirhams a year earlier. This drop reflects the impact of delayed fishing campaigns and rising sardine prices, although the semi-preserved products segment outperformed expectations.
- Net result: The company posted a net loss of -15.2 million dirhams for H1 2024, compared to a profit of 3.1 million dirhams in H1 2023, following the same trend as EBITDA.
Financial indicators (consolidated)
- Consolidated revenue: Group revenue for H1 2024 stood at 570 million dirhams, down from 623 million dirhams in the same period in 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by the underperformance of the sardine canning segment, partially offset by strong growth in the semi-preserved segment across all subsidiaries.
- Consolidated EBITDA: The Group’s consolidated EBITDA increased to 30 million dirhams, compared to 21 million dirhams in H1 2023. This improvement reflects ongoing efforts to optimize production costs and enhance operational margins across the group’s subsidiaries.
- Net consolidated result: The consolidated net result followed a similar trend, though specific figures were not provided.
Outlook
Unimer remains optimistic about the recovery of its operational performance. The sardine fishing season, which began to recover in the second half of 2024, is expected to boost the canning division’s activities. Additionally, the company is focusing on optimizing production processes, modernizing equipment, and maintaining strict cost control. While performance is expected to improve, the overall results for 2024 are anticipated to remain below those of the previous year.
