SOMOCER Announces 32.6% Decline in Revenue in Q3 2024
SOMOCER has reported a revenue of 11,896 MTND in the third quarter of 2024, a 32.6% year-over-year decline. This decrease affects both the local market (-32.2% to 10,952 MTND) and exports (-36.2% to 0,944 MTND). Production has also plummeted by 54.3% to 9,051 MTND.
Management attributes this trend, in part, to disruptions related to the freezing of the company's accounts, affecting both supply and production. Furthermore, "demand for the company's products has decreased due to a difficult economic climate, marked by a stagnant real estate promotion sector, delayed tourist investments, and a slowdown in residential renovations, resulting from weakened purchasing power and high credit rates." Additionally, the parallel market is exerting negative pressure, with a significant offer of inferior-quality products, often illegally imported from India, and offered at very competitive prices.
Over the entire exercise, revenues have lost 34.3% to 42,094 MTND, with 36,839 MTND generated in the Tunisian market (-37.5%) and 5,255 MTND achieved abroad (+1.3%). Production has been suffering since the beginning of the year, showing a 53.8% collapse to 33,177 MTND.
Investments have been limited to 1,791 MTND. Meanwhile, medium- and long-term debts have decreased by 24.3% to 22,882 MTND. On the other hand, short-term debts have increased by 20.9% to 56,177 MTND.
This trend is also valid for the Group's subsidiaries listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange. SOTEMAIL has also announced a 34% decline in revenue to 6,941 MTND in the third quarter of 2024 and a 35% decrease to 28,079 MTND since the beginning of the year. SANIMED has partially escaped this trend, posting a 1% increase in sales to 8,328 MTND in the third quarter, but has also experienced a 17% decline to 24,147 MTND over the entire year.
On the market, the sanction is general in terms of yield: -45.2% for SOMOCER, -40.48% for SANIMED, and -39.81% for SOTEMAIL. The ownership structure of the Group remains the main factor negatively influencing the stock price, with many uncertainties for the coming months. As long as this issue is not resolved, we see no reason why investors should have confidence in the future of these entities. This is not a question of numbers, but rather of governance.
