Egyptian multimillionaire businessman Safwan Thabet received dividends totaling EGP164.98 million ($8.75 million) on Sun., July 3, from his stake in Cairo-based food product manufacturer Juhayna Food Industries.
Juhayna is a family-owned business that produces, processes, and packages dairy, juice, and cooking products. In the food-processing and agro-allied industries, the company operates in five business segments.
Thabet, who founded the Egypt-based food products manufacturer nearly 38 years ago, owns a majority 50.07-percent stake in the company through Pharon Investments Limited, with a stake worth $195 million.
The $8.75 million in dividends that he received after shareholders approved the payment of dividends totaling EGP329.5 million ($17.5 million), or EGP0.35 ($0.01855) per share on Sunday, is 75-percent higher than the EGP94.27 million ($5 million) that he received last year when shareholders approved a total payout of EGP188.28 million ($10 million).
Even after a stellar financial performance in 2021, Juhayna is poised to deliver an impressive performance this year, barring disruptions in its operating environment, as it reported a 15.5-percent increase in profit from EGP123 million ($6.55 million) in the first quarter of 2021 to EGP142 million ($7.56 million) in the first quarter of 2022.
During the period under review, the group’s revenue increased by 29.1 percent, from EGP1.86 billion ($99 million) to EGP2.4 billion ($127.8 million), owing to strong consumer demand in the packaged dairy, yogurt, and juice markets.
Juhayna launched its plant-based segment to meet growing consumer demand and contribute to the segment’s development with natural products and vegan-unique flavor compositions in an effort to expand its operations and deliver increased value to shareholders.
It also introduced five new stock-keeping units under the sub-brand “N&G” (Nuts and Grains), making it the first Egyptian company to market a full plant-based milk range.