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By Ehab Farouk
CAIRO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Obour Land, one of Egypt's largest cheese producers, expects net profit to grow 12 percent in 2017 and aims to issue a cash dividend of at least 50 percent of those earnings this year, Chief Executive Officer Ashraf Sherif told Reuters.
Established in 1997, Obour Land produced around 97,000 tonnes of white cheese last year and expects to increase its production to 102,000 tonnes this year.
The company forecasts a 6 percent increase in net profit in 2016 from 92 million Egyptian pounds ($4.89 million) in 2015. Obour Land is expected to report 2016 earnings this month.
"We will distribute no less than 50 percent of this year's (2017's) net profits in cash dividends to shareholders," Sherif told Reuters. It did not pay a dividend on its 2016 earnings.
The cheese maker imports around 70 percent of its raw materials and has been hit by the halving of the Egyptian pound after the central bank floated the currency on Nov. 3.
Obour Land has raised the prices for its cheese by 60 percent since the beginning of 2016, Sherif said.
"If the dollar prices do not ease from the current levels we will raise prices by around 20 percent in April," he added.
The firm also expects to increase its market share to 42 percent in 2017 from 36 percent currently and to 45 percent by 2018.
"We have 10 sale and marketing centers and we will increase them to 12 this year," Sherif said.
The cheese producer also plans on introducing juices, yogurt and cooked cheese in the second quarter of the year, hoping that the new lines would represent 30 percent of total revenues by 2020, Sherif said.
"By the end of 2019 we aim to have gained 6 percent of the juices and yogurt market share," he said.
($1 = 18.8050 Egyptian pounds)
(Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Louise Heavens) ((asma.alsharif@thomsonreuters.com; +20225783290; Reuters Messaging: asma.alsharif.reuters.com@reuters.net))
CAIRO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Obour Land, one of Egypt's largest cheese producers, expects net profit to grow 12 percent in 2017 and aims to issue a cash dividend of at least 50 percent of those earnings this year, Chief Executive Officer Ashraf Sherif told Reuters.
Established in 1997, Obour Land produced around 97,000 tonnes of white cheese last year and expects to increase its production to 102,000 tonnes this year.
The company forecasts a 6 percent increase in net profit in 2016 from 92 million Egyptian pounds ($4.89 million) in 2015. Obour Land is expected to report 2016 earnings this month.
"We will distribute no less than 50 percent of this year's (2017's) net profits in cash dividends to shareholders," Sherif told Reuters. It did not pay a dividend on its 2016 earnings.
The cheese maker imports around 70 percent of its raw materials and has been hit by the halving of the Egyptian pound after the central bank floated the currency on Nov. 3.
Obour Land has raised the prices for its cheese by 60 percent since the beginning of 2016, Sherif said.
"If the dollar prices do not ease from the current levels we will raise prices by around 20 percent in April," he added.
The firm also expects to increase its market share to 42 percent in 2017 from 36 percent currently and to 45 percent by 2018.
"We have 10 sale and marketing centers and we will increase them to 12 this year," Sherif said.
The cheese producer also plans on introducing juices, yogurt and cooked cheese in the second quarter of the year, hoping that the new lines would represent 30 percent of total revenues by 2020, Sherif said.
"By the end of 2019 we aim to have gained 6 percent of the juices and yogurt market share," he said.
($1 = 18.8050 Egyptian pounds)
(Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Louise Heavens) ((asma.alsharif@thomsonreuters.com; +20225783290; Reuters Messaging: asma.alsharif.reuters.com@reuters.net))
