Seven subsidiaries to the Food Industries Holding Company (FIHC) operating in the cooking oil sector registered EGP 3.8bn in revenues of FY 2014/2015, compared to EGP 1.7bn in the previous FY, marking a 180% hike.
This result is an unprecedented value of revenues achieved due to the increasing production lines and quality improvement of the cooking oil and packaging style, Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy said when he announced the results in a Wednesday statement.
The revenues of these companies in the first quarter of current FY 2015/2016 have recorded EGP 950m.
On 20 October, Hanafy disclosed that revenues of seven subsidiaries working in the consumer complexes sector of the FIHC to EGP 15bn in FY 2014/2015 up from EGP 8bn in the previous FY, recording a 176% increase.
He attributed the increased revenues to ongoing development operations in those companies and increase in the amount of food items distributed in consumer complexes at low prices “which encouraged citizens to make more purchases from those outlets”.
In June, the government announced intentions to amend the public business sector law no. 203 to target increasing FIHC’s capital by EGP 3 to 4bn.
The Ministry of Supply submitted a proposal to the cabinet, demanding a legislative amendment to the public business sector law. This would allow government holding companies to increase capital through the stock market to fund future expansions.
The law prevents the funding of public business sector companies unless through the Ministry of Finance and the National Investment Bank.
In April 2014, the Egyptian government approved transferring affiliates of the FIHC from the Ministry of Investment to the Ministry of Supply, in efforts to “deal with price hikes”.
The stock market listing would mark the first for a state holding company. State-owned companies listed in the Egyptian stock market are Telecom Egypt, Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals, and Alexandria Mineral Oils Company.
The listing has yet to be finalised since the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) opposed the move because head of EFSA Sherif Sami describing it as “illegal”.
FIHC has 23 subsidiaries operating in the fields of sugar, cooking oil, soaps, wheat, rice, and other various food items.
