Romanian meat processor spends €1.7m on packaging and range

Radu Timiş, the company’s co-owner, told local business daily Ziarul Financiar​ that the first six months of this year allowed Cris-Tim to report a solid sales increase, but that the increasing raw material prices and the meat processor’s investments in modernising its capacities have exerted pressure on the firm’s profitability.

Sales on the rise​

“From the production point of view, we achieved our objectives, as we posted a 12% increase in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier. Our revenues increased by 14-15% during this period,”​ Timiş said.

This said, the meat processor’s profits were down during the first six months of 2017, mostly due to the investments made in the brand and Cris-Tim’s packaging capacities, as well as “the fact that raw material prices increased by 42% during this period”​, according to the company’s co-owner.

Timiş said that, among others, the company invested to upgrade its sausage production process and introduce new products to the market. It also modernised the labelling of its products.

Raw material prices put pressure on profits​

According to the businessman, in spite of the significantly higher raw material prices, the meat processor decided to raise the prices of its products by only 10-12% during the first half of this year.

“The increase in prices is spread over time and, unfortunately, producers will cover the difference. If we increase the price of our products right now, we are risking that consumers will go back to cheap and low-quality products,”​ said Timiş.

“No, I don’t know whether the market would endure an immediate price increase of at least 25%,”​ the businessman said.

Timiş added that, as a result, the meat processor spread the price increases over a six-month period.

Last year, Cris-Tim reported revenues of more than €120m, according to data from the firm. In addition to the domestic market, the Romanian company exports about 10% of its output to a number of foreign markets, with the EU dominating Cris-Tim’s export structure. These include the UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, Greece, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus, according to data from the company. Outside the EU, Cris-Tim exports its products to Moldova.

Set up in 1992 by Radu and Cristina Timiş, Cris-Tim is based in the country’s capital Bucharest. The meat processor sells a wide range of processed pork and poultry meat products under the Cris-Tim, Matache Macelaru, Vitality, Alpinia and Bunatati brands. The company’s product range consists of sausages, hams, frankfurters, salami and others, according to data released by Cris-Tim.