El Fouladh Publishes 2023 Financial Statements
The public company has finally published its 2023 financial statements, a crucial step towards rectifying its situation.
2023 Revenue: 145,578 MTND, Down 17.1% YoY
The 2023 revenue decreased by 17.1% compared to the previous year, mainly due to:
- A 14% drop in iron price in November 2023, which cost around 8 MTND.
- A 3 MTND decrease in metal structure sales.
- A 14 MTND decline in cable sales.**
- Additional discounts of 3,200 MTND granted to customers.
Expenses Increase by 3.3% YoY to 149,643 MTND
- The main expenditure post is the consumption of supplies, amounting to 784 MTND.
- Personnel expenses decreased by 2% to 40,203 MTND.
EBIT Plunges into Negative Territory
The company's EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) has turned negative, dropping from 31,059 MTND in 2022 to -3,920 MTND in 2023. Adding net financial expenses of 40,323 MTND, the company reports a deficit of 42,24 MTND.
Challenges and Debt
El Fouladh is facing difficulties that have led to the payment of social security contributions. The principal debt to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) amounts to 56.9 MTND, with penalties totaling 76 MTND. The list of creditors also includes the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) (146.9 MTND) and AGIL (9.7 MTND).
State Guarantee and Debt
The company continues to benefit from a state guarantee with public banks, up to 35.9 MTND with STB Bank, 54.0 MTND with BH Bank, and 65.7 MTND with BNA Bank. The total debt amounts to 281,562 MTND, including bank facilities of 74,289 MTND.
Restructuring Efforts
The Ministry of Economy and Planning is in talks with the Islamic Development Bank to secure financing for the construction of a steel plant. This would represent a new starting point for the operational level. However, from a financial perspective, we believe that an injection of equity capital remains necessary, given the company's negative equity of -382,451 MTND as of 2023.
