SAH Publishes Third Quarter 2024 Activity Indicators
Revenue Decline in Tunisia, but Group Sees Consolidated Growth
SAH has published its activity indicators for the third quarter of 2024. The Tunisian entity of the group saw its revenue (excluding taxes) decrease by 4.8% to 120,724 MTND. The local market contracted, with a 6.5% year-over-year decline to 92,822 MTND. Exports, on the other hand, increased by 1.3% to 27,902 MTND.
As of the end of September 2024, revenue had declined by 6.0% to 353,998 MTND, with both local (-3.1% to 285,867 MTND) and export (-16.2% to 68,132 MTND) activities contributing to the decline. The decrease in export sales was mainly impacted by the blocking of letters of credit at the Libyan Central Bank and the closure of borders.
At the end of September 2024, baby hygiene product sales represented 42% of SAH Tunisia's total sales, followed by paper hygiene products with 29%. The contributions of the feminine and adult product lines were 16% and 9%, respectively.
Investments increased by 211.2% to 19,811 MTND. On the debt side, the company's debt stood at 263,015 MTND, with 224,757 MTND being short-term debt. The company has contracted new loans and issued treasury bills.
At the consolidated level, the SAH Group reported a 12.5% increase in its quarterly revenue to 264,205 MTND. International revenue decreased by 3.2% to 86,365 MTND, while consolidated local revenue increased by 22.0% to 177,840 MTND. Over the first nine months of the year, revenue totaled 726,446 MTND, up 8.0% year-over-year, with 454,215 MTND coming from the local market and 259,475 MTND from exports.
The group benefited from the strong commercial performance of SAH Libya, which saw its net revenue soar by 89.7% compared to September 2023, reaching 31,400 MTND. The launch of the Cosmetics activity also generated revenue of 55,500 MTND.
Sales of the SAH Algeria subsidiary were 58,000 MTND, up 10.4% year-over-year. Sales of the Azur Papier subsidiary grew by 8.7% to 73,800 MTND.
Management expects an excellent final quarter of the year, driven by the resumption of exports to the Libyan market, the commercial performances of its Libyan and Algerian subsidiaries, and the launch of its cosmetics product line. In terms of profitability, the group is counting on a significant improvement, thanks to a stock optimization policy. The market is expected to appreciate these figures. The stock has already yielded a return of 34.25% since the beginning of the year, and shareholders should be reassured.
