Romanian organic company thrives on the Bucharest Stock Exchange
Norofert (NRF.RO), an agri-food conglomerate that covers the entire chain of agricultural production, from vegetable production to the sale and distribution of organic inputs, celebrated ) two years since its listing on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Since its debut on the stock exchange, capital market investors have carried out over 58,000 trades with 8.2 million NRF shares, worth EUR 23,8 million. The company's capitalization is EUR 25,4 million, a fivefold increase compared to that at the time of listing.
“Listing a company and then the anniversaries it marks as a public company are important moments. Two years ago, Norofert debuted on the stock exchange in a period full of uncertainties, March 2020 being the month in which the first signs of the COVID-19 pandemic appeared in Romania.
Even now, two years later, the regional and international context is not calmer. However, the Bucharest Stock Exchange has shown stability throughout this period and we are happy to build, together with all our partners, including listed companies, an efficient and solid capital market”, said Radu Hanga, President of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
“Two years ago, Norofert was the first entrepreneurial company in Romanian agriculture to come on the stock exchange and set a trend for this field. During the two years we continued the development process of the company, by making investments in launching new products dedicated to organic farming, purchasing the farm in Zimnicea, where we have already carried out the first sowing works ecological conversion 2 at the end of 2021 for wheat, barley and rapeseed, we prepared our entry into the US market and intensified the research activity through a partnership with USAMV - Faculty of Biotechnology. At the same time, becoming a public company, I understood how important it is to have a professional management team. Therefore, we have restructured the finance department by bringing in an experienced CFO and the results have already started to show - in 2021, the collection rate has reached 99.4%. However, as far as today is concerned, I think that any discussion about business and success does not make much sense given what is happening near our borders. I hope that the situation will ease as soon as possible and that we will be able to return to the normalcy that we do not seem to have appreciated enough in recent years”, said Vlad Popescu, Norofert CEO and President of the Board.
In 2021, Norofert registered a turnover of EUR10,3 million, up 107% compared to 2020 and a net profit of EUR1,64 million, up 63% from 2020. For the year 2022, according to the budget of revenues and expenditures, the company estimates a turnover of EUR13,5 million, EBITDA of EUR2,78 million and a net profit of EUR2 million. Norofert currently has 58 employees and collaborators.
The company's investment plan for 2022 includes about EUR5 thousand for the complete automation of the input production line for organic farming, as well as the diversification of the product range. The company also announced investments of EUR1,4 million for the construction of a 1,500-square meter warehouse at the Filipestii de Padure factory. Regarding the research activity, Norofert announces investments of about EUR 24 thousands in the completion of the research and innovation laboratory within the factory in Filipestii de Padure. For the farm in Zimnicea, Teleorman county, Norofert will invest approximately EUR66 thousands in the full operationalization of the farm by developing the storage capacity of organic cereals, modernizing existing spaces and building new ones. The company is also considering investments in an irrigation system covering an area of 200-250 hectares.
Source: ZFEnglish