Mansoura Poultry Co. has decided to freeze its plan to invest in the Suez Canal Area, according to deputy chairperson Mahfouz Farid. The plan included in its first phase the establishment of a refrigerated food storage warehouse on an area of 25,000 sqm at a cost of EGP 80m.
Farid attributed this decision to the government’s slow pace in executing the investments on the ground and not completing the execution of the master plan of developing the Suez Canal Economic Zone, despite the company expressing willingness to invest in the area about a year ago. The Suez Canal Authority Pension Fund contributes 6% to the capital of Mansoura Poultry.
Farid said that a delegation from the company held a meeting two weeks ago with leaders in the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and after the meeting, the company concluded that it would be difficult to invest in the area at the current time as a result of the incomplete infrastructure that would place food products at risk of being spoiled.
The release of the company’s earnings of the first half of this year showed that it achieved net profits of EGP 10.7m, compared to EGP 9.9m in the same period last year, an increase of 7.9%.
Farid credited the profit increase to a number of factors including the growth of sales in the local market through the opening of a number of retail branches and the control of price rises resulting from buying raw materials and feed.
Sales of Mansoura Poultry reached EGP 43m in the first six months of this year, compared to EGP 34m during the comparison period in 2015. As for the costs, they registered EGP 29m compared to EGP 26m.
The company operates mainly in the businesses needed for serving and developing poultry wealth.
