First Mills’ net income rose 5.4% y-o-y to SAR 77.7 mn in 1Q, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The company reported revenues of SAR 276.4 mn during the quarter, rising 8.2% y-o-y.
Key drivers: First Mills attributed the rise in net income during the first three months of the year to a growth in production and new capacities on the back of full operation of Mill C in Jeddah. Strong sales from its flour and feed segments and cashflow optimization also fueled the growth in net income.
A look at how products fared: Flour sales by First Mills accounted for 58.6% of total revenues in 1Q on the back of capacity expansion and two-digit growth in small pack products. The contribution of feed sales to revenues came in higher y-o-y over the same period to 28.3% due to improved demand. However, bran sales’ contribution to revenues was down y-o-y to 13.1% after the firm prioritized intake in feed production to help meet the growing demand.
Background: First Mills is among one of several state-owned flour milling firms that were sold to the private sector by the government in recent years under its privatization program for the industry. It was the first of the group to go public in a closely watched USD 266 mn IPO in May of last year.