Led by Egyptian Khamis family, Oriental Weavers’ earnings fall as raw material prices rise

Oriental Weavers, an Egypt-based carpet manufacturer led by leading business executive Yasmine Mohamed Khamis, reported a double-digit drop in profit in the first quarter of 2022 as the war in Ukraine and the accompanying economic sanctions on Russia weighed heavily on the supply chain, causing raw material prices to rise.

The decline in profit is a step back from the company’s stellar performance in 2021, when it recorded its highest-ever revenue of EGP11.4 billion ($725.2 million), owing to demand-pull dynamics in the global carpet industry.

According to data from its recently published first quarter financial results, its profit in the first quarter of 2022 fell by 24 percent from EGP343 million ($18.44 million) in the same period of 2021 to EGP260 million ($14 million) despite a double-digit increase in net sales.

Despite an 18.15-percent increase in net sales from EGP2.76 billion ($148.4 million) to EGP3.26 billion ($175.25 million) during the period under review, earnings fell by double digits due to a 27.41-percent increase in direct costs compared to the previous period due to an increase in raw material costs.

Oriental Weavers is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of machine-made carpets, with production facilities in three countries.

Yasmine Mohamed Khamis and other members of the Khamis family own a 56.58-percent controlling interest in the leading carpet manufacturer, which distributes its products in approximately 150 countries worldwide.

Oriental Weavers opened five new showrooms across various governorates in Egypt in the first quarter of 2022 as part of its strategic expansion roadmap, bringing the total number of showrooms on a group level to 259.

To maintain its leading market position, the management revealed that part of its strategy for the next three years is to increase its showrooms across Egypt, as well as to expand its online platform and grow its social media presence.