The group said that its “steady performance” was maintained by continuous capital investments in operational assets and human resources. The group added that it will continue to focus on its strategic investments, on further product improvements and on pursuing its internationalisation plans.

“It is encouraging to report a steady performance across all segments within our group, which continues to deliver robust results despite competitive pressures,” said Norman Aquilina, Farsons Group Chief Executive.

“The changing market landscape and changes in consumer spending patterns, along with growing concerns on packaging waste, will continue to be important challenges for the Group, as will the maintenance of equitable market conditions that ensure a level playing field for all operators in the sector,” Mr Aquilina added.

Due to fierce market competition fuelled by “newly-important brands” and pricing challenges, the brewing and beer segment only recorded a marginal increase, the press statement says. Nevertheless, the beverage and food importation segment registered an improved 10.3% contribution to profit, while the franchised food retailing establishments maintained growth with an 8.6% turnover increase.

“The group reaffirms its commitment in internationalising the business while remaining prudently optimistic of the growth potential in existing and new markets,” Group Chairman Louis A Farrugia. “The Board of Directors recognise that the long-term investment strategy deployed over the years will continue to prove beneficial in providing in an efficient, competitive and profitable manner the diversified high-quality product mix sought by our customers,” Mr Farrugia added.

The post Farsons after-tax profit grows 4.7% to €6.4m in H1 2019 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Aspire Global’s revenues increased by 32.1%, from €24.7m to €32.8m in Q2 2019, spurring growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) by 7.2%, from €5.7m to €6.1m. The performance of the group was considerably lifted by B2B revenues jumping by 57.5%, from €12.4m to €19.5m, constituting 59.6% of total revenues.

“Our B2B operations have been performing very strongly recently, which is very satisfying because we are bearing the fruits of all the hard work we have done in the last two to three years. Our product development teams have been designing and launching great new features for our partners and we have continued to focus on providing the best CRM [customer relationship management] system in the business so our operators can maximise lifetime values and reduce churn,” Aspire Global CEO Tsachi Maimon tells Business Malta.

Although the CEO could not reveal too much about their plans and expectations for the future — for Aspire being a public company — Mr Maimon believes the trend is clear: “We will strengthen our current portfolio of partners and add new ones to our platform; while enabling them to offer new products and features to their players,” the CEO tells BM.

With such a strong business-to-business (B2B) arm, one would wonder how strong the muscles are on the business-to-customer (B2C) limb. “We believe the way we have managed to combine our B2C work with our B2B activities is one of the reasons we have grown so successfully in recent years. We have a team that is focussed on B2C because like every other strong operator in the market we want Karamba to compete with the biggest names out there,” Mr Maimon breaks it down.

Success around Karamba has enabled Aspire Global to grow and perform well as a company, which the company sees has resulted in a strong showcase for the B2B partners of the firm. “They can see what our platform is capable of and when potential B2B partners come to us, we can show them the quality of our platform and when they sign with us they often finish the conversation by saying they want ‘Karamba-style success’,” according to the CEO.

M&A to fuel further growth

Aspire has recently agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in GMS Entertainment Limited, owner of the B2B group Pariplay, for approximately €13.1m in cash. Pariplay operates a game aggregator platform globally, including their own game studios, providing operators with access to thousands of game titles from leading game producers.

“Our M&A strategy will focus on B2B technology companies that can add volume and can further contribute to Aspire.”

“Pariplay will play a very important and strategic role in Aspire Global’s operations. Strategically, it will enable us to increase our presence across the value chain of the iGaming industry. As for the United States, Pariplay is already licensed to operate in New Jersey. It represents a major advantage over other games aggregators and studios and will act as a spearhead for potential moves Aspire Global might make in the US market in the future,” the CEO says.

When Aspire announced the planned acquisition, the firm tagged it as a “crucial” moment in gaining control of another section in the iGaming value chain. The transaction should be closed during Q3 2019, with a positive effect on the company’s EBITDA as of 2020. For 2019, however, the transaction is not expected to have any material effect on financial results. Nevertheless, Aspire sees the possibility of further mergers and acquisitions activities (M&A).

“Pariplay is the first of a number of acquisitions we have planned as a group. We have been very ambitious and thanks to our successful operations and performance we have cash in the bank that we plan to use. Our M&A strategy will focus on B2B technology companies that can add volume and can further contribute to Aspire. We want to control more steps within the iGaming value chain so that we have more control and can save costs in the process, while also growing revenues through operations outside of our platform,” according to Mr Maimon.

Despite some busy months behind, Aspire Global does not appear to take a rest, in fact, the company is eyeing further expansion. “Our vision is to enable our partners to achieve their full potential. There are many ways of doing this: launching more partners, enabling them to have a larger product offering in store with additional verticals that would allow them to launch into more markets. Our partners are part of our roadmap and future vision and will play a key role in both Aspire Global’s growth and their own,” Mr Maimon concludes.

The post Aspire Global bets on further growth, plans more M&A first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The group’s pre-tax profit, following the “spin-off” of Trident Estates Plc in the previous financial year, reached €15.1m — an increase of 10% from last year’s profit of €13.8m.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to €23.2m, an increase of 5% over last year.

The group’s net borrowings decreased by €6m, resulting in a lower gearing ratio of 23.4% as compared to 28.8% in the previous year.

Total equity of the group increased from €96.6m to €108.3m reflecting the profit generated, net of the dividends distributed during the year.

Board recommends €0.10 per share dividend

The board has recommended paying a final dividend of €3m — €0.10 per share — for approval at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 24 June 2019.

Together with the net interim dividend of €1m — €0.0333 per share — paid in October 2018, this will result in total dividends of €4m being paid in respect of the year ended 31 January 2019, the press statement says.

This represents an increase of 11% or €400,000 over the dividends declared in the previous year.

Challenging year behind

Despite what the company tags as “aggressive competition” in the local market, Farsons registered growth in its locally produced products while also increasing its imported beer, spirits and wine portfolio in response to changing consumer preferences, according to the press release. Its food import business together with its franchised food business registered higher turnover resulting in improved contribution levels, despite ongoing challenges on distribution costs, the press statement adds.

“While such results are encouraging and serve to motivate us to pursue further our strategic path, we shall continue to face our fair share of challenges. These include an ever increasing aggressive competition across all business sectors, rapidly evolving consumer tastes and preferences, as well as environmental and health considerations and resultant legislative pressures,” said Norman Aquilina, CEO of the Farsons group.

“Also, there are, of course, both moral and business imperatives to do more than just increase profits. Indeed, we are obliged to take a long-term view which considers the interest of a wide spectrum of stakeholders ranging from our consumers, our workforce, our suppliers, our shareholders and the broader community as a whole. Over the last year Farsons continued to implement wide-ranging initiatives to embrace our social and environmental responsibilities in practice, as enshrined in our mission statement, and this through increasingly operating our business units in a healthier, cleaner and more sustainable manner,” Mr Aquilina added.

Farsons expects the mandatory national Beverage Container Refund Scheme (BCRS) on all one-way beverage containers to come in force in a year. Farsons says it is fully aligned with the environmental objectives of the scheme, adding that it believes effective enforcement across the board is an essential prerequisite for achieving the set objectives.

“Innovation remains high on the group’s agenda, as management continues to prioritise the development of products which proactively meet, and exceed, the ever-evolving expectations of our consumers. Another growth pillar is internationalisation. Following significant investments made by the group, further tapping a growing number of export markets remains a priority, although this presents new and ongoing challenges that nonetheless continue to be addressed,” said Louis A Farrugia, Chairman of Farsons group.

Further projects in pipeline

Malta’s well-known local Cisk lager has its 90th anniversary this year. Marking this milestone, Mr Farrugia said that Cisk is “not only a Maltese icon but has won respect and a following from an international audience”.

The CEO also mentioned the Old Brewhouse project launched in 2018, which will feature a microbrewery, a brewpub, a visitor attraction, depicting Farsons history and story, and a cafeteria/bistro, among others. Coordinated with Trident Estates’s Business Park Project, the two projects could open in the first quarter of 2021.

“Farsons’s significant investments over many years have notably contributed to the improved performance, and the group is cautiously optimistic of its ability to continue to deliver growth in its turnover and profitability in a growing Maltese economy. However, continuous growth is also dependent on sustained favourable economic conditions leading to increased consumer demand, equitable market conditions, a level playing field for all operators in the sector together with the growth of the tourism industry which is showing signs of reaching a plateau for the coming year,” Mr Farrugia concluded.

The post Farsons sees 5% rise in turnover to €99.8m in 2018 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.