Polish meat processor eyes industry, private equity investor
“The main task of this advisor will be to analyse offers,” said ZM Henryk Kania in a filing to the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). The selection procedure is being launched “in relation with the observed increased interest in the company by potential significant and strategic investors”.
“The management board considers that, as a result of this process, it can (but does not have to) make a decision to initiate activities to secure a significant investor,” the statement said.
It is noteworthy that, between January and September 2018, the company reported lower revenues than in the same period a year earlier, according to the latest available figures from ZM Henryk Kania. In the first nine months of 2018, the meat processor posted net sales of about PLN855.5 million (€197.6m), down 20.2% compared with a year earlier. In spite of this, ZM Henryk Kania managed to maintain its net profit at a stable level, at PLN34.6m (€8m) in the January-September 2018 period, compared with PLN34.9m (€8.1m) in the same period a year earlier, as indicated by the company’s financial report for the first three quarters of 2018.
Export sales to rise
The company aims to improve its revenues by increasing its foreign sales. In a statement released last January, ZM Henryk Kania said that this year the meat processor planned to “increase the shares of foreign sales not only through raising the sales in the countries in which we are already present, but also through entering new markets, including those outside Europe”.
In 2017, the meat processor exported PLN92.8m (€21.4m)-worth of products to other European Union member states. Outside the EU, the company’s foreign sales generated only PLN4m (€900,000), according to data from ZM Henryk Kania’s financial report for 2017.
The meat business specialises in making various pork meat products, including hams, sausages, dry sausages, frankfurters, pâtés, Poland’s traditional kabanos smoked pork sausage, bacon crisps and pork jerky, as well as other products. The company offers its output under the Henryk Kania and Maestro brands.
In the Polish market, Portugal’s Jeronimo Martins, owner of the Poland-based Biedronka discount store chain, remains ZM Henryk Kania’s main retail partner. In addition to Biedronka, the meat processor sells its products through a number of other retailers, including Kaufland, Auchan, Carrefour, Makro, Intermarché, Netto, and Lidl.
Set up in 1990, the meat processor was established by local businessman Henryk Kania who currently serves as the president of the company’s supervisory board. Malta-based Bahrija Ltd is ZM Henryk Kania’s majority shareholder, through Cyprus-based Bogden Ltd, with some 60.40% of the shares. Since 2012, ZM Henryk Kania has been listed on the WSE.
