Agthia Group’s 2025 strategy to expand footprint beyond UAE

Dubai - The company is looking to scale up its operations in several existing markets such as Oman, KSA, Jordan, and Egypt

Agthia Group on Monday announced the details of its 2025 strategy, which will see the organisation expand its footprint beyond the UAE to become a regional F&B leader.

Speaking in a virtual conference, Alan Smith, CEO of Agthia, highlighted details about the group’s five-year strategy and key targets.

“We are embarking on a transformational journey that will enable us to become a food and beverage leader in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan regions by 2025,” he said. “Our 2025 strategy revolves around three strategic pillars: growth, efficiency, and capability. Our plan for the next five years is designed to extend the group’s market leadership, and drive significant value for our stakeholders. Our aim is to grow from being a UAE-centric organisation to leaving our footprint across the Mena region and beyond.”

Smith also noted several categories which will continue to be the group’s focus in the coming years. These include proteins, snacking, and plant-based. He also noted that the group has a “proven track record of cost optimisation.”

“Over Dh200 million have been saved over the last four years,” he said. “We are targeting a similar amount of savings in this five year strategy. We will do this through our continued focus on procurement, trade investments, enhancing business processes, and minimising waste. Sustainability and innovation will continue to be important targets for us; product innovation will continue to evolve in line with changing consumer trends across health, wellness, convenience, and the sustainability of our planet.”

He also explained how Agthia was tackling the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are steadily adapting to the trends that we have seen during this challenging period, and have already taken significant steps on that journey. We know that we have a long way to go, but the landscape that lies before us is an exciting one. We will continue to get leaner, protect our core businesses and ensure that our progress is agile and deliberately paced.”

Looking at the group’s expansion strategy, Smith stressed the importance of picking the right geographies. “We have a great legacy company here in the UAE, but when it comes to our international plans, we are looking to scale up in our existing markets such as Oman, KSA, Jordan, and Egypt. We have also added Pakistan as one of our priority markets because as a food and beverage company, we need to look at where the populations are. We also need to be able to leverage the experience and knowledge that we have within the leadership team.”

Ammar Al Ghoul, chief financial officer at Agthia, added: “For the future, and conservatively calculating high-level borrowing capacity, we are looking at a range of currently available borrowing capacity between Dh1.2 billion and Dh1.3 billion. Along the way, we will continue to add companies, especially through acquisitions, and at least for this coming year, I don’t see any obstacles for raising debt and utilising the cash resources available.”

rohma@khaleejtimes.com