EGYPT- South Cairo and Giza Mills and Bakeries Company (SCFM), one of the leading milling companies in Egypt, has achieved net profits of EGP 8.35 million (US$278,000) during the second quarter (Q2) of the fiscal year (FY) 2022/2023, according to financial indicators filed to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) on Monday.

South Cairo & Giza Mills & Bakeries Company is a subsidiary of the Holding Company for Food Industries based in Egypt with a product portfolio that includes flour, pasta, bakery products, and fodder.

Additionally, the joint-stock milling company is engaged in the processing, trading, importing and exporting, packaging, warehousing, and distributing of grains and their related products.

The profitability follows a difficult first half of the 2021/2022 FY where the company recorded net losses of EGP 19.16M (US$637,000).

The company’s sales grew to EGP 106.85M (US$3.6M) in the half year ending December 2022 from EGP 72.75M (US$2.42 million) during the corresponding period the year before.

In the first quarter (Q1), the company posted a net profit after tax of EGP 5.007M (US$170,000) during the three months that ended on September 30th, compared to a net loss of EGP 10.578M (US$352,000) in the same period a year earlier.

Having posted an impressive Q2, the company now anticipates better returns in FY 2022/2023 as opposed to last year when private flour mills in Egypt were struggling with supply crises leading to shutdowns.

The crisis had begun when the prices of unsubsidized bread in Egypt spiked and importers struggled to pay for the wheat stocks that were blocked in the system.

 During the disputed season, the South Cairo and Giza Mills and Bakeries Company (SCFM) had accused the Egyptian Ministry of Supply of being one of the reasons for the losses it incurred in Q1 owing to a reduction in the quantities of wheat supplied to the company.

The company said, in a statement to the Egyptian Stock Exchange, that its losses exceeded half the value of shareholders’ equity during the 2021/2022 fiscal year hence its move to invite the general assembly for an extraordinary meeting to discuss liquidating the company.

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