National Flour Mills reports rise in 'dough' for 2022

DESPITE continued grappling with challenges coming out of covid19 and the Ukrainian war with Russia and other global shocks, National Flour Mills has reported an increase in profits after tax over 2021.

NFM earned a profit after tax of TT$6.9 million as compared to $1.3 million in 2021. Its financial report revealed that it earned $532.8 million in revenue for 2022 as compared to $441.6 million in 2021, however cost of sales, selling and distribution expenses, administration expenses and income tax had a similar effect as it did in 2021, whittling down its revenue.

“Our focused marketing campaigns, reminding consumers of the high quality and performance of our products including our flagship brand, Ibis, paid significant dividends, contributing to a 20.6 per cent increase in revenue,” said Chairman Nigel Romano in his report.

Romano said 2022 was significant for NFM as it continued to upgrade its plant, machinery and people to provide the best quality and service in its products. The company achieved a SQF Level 3 certification, which Romano said gave the assurance that NFM is doing everything possible to ensure that its food is safe for consumptions and meets quality standards.

“In addition to food safety, particular emphasis was placed on creating a culture of safety with the launch of a behavioural-based safety programme, including continuous training and development initiatives to certify our plant personnel and enhance the capabilities of our supervisors,” Romano said.

The increase in profits mark a continued upward trajectory after NFM spent the majority of 2022 reporting losses.

In March 2022 it reported a loss of $783,000 as shocks coming out of supply issues were intensified with the beginning of the Ukrainian war with Russia. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine meant a disruption in supply to NFM from the Black Sea Region – where NFM gets raw materials to manufacture flour locally. The war’s impact on fuel, wheat and fertilizer went on through the second quarter resulting in losses of over $2.3 million. The third quarter saw another year-on-year decrease in profits with a reported loss of $1.7 million as compared to a profit of $4 million in 2021.

“The global economy continued to be affected by the effects of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, resulting in weaker-than-projected growth, higher than-normal inflation rates and continued disruptions to global supply chains. These impacted the cost of raw materials and shipping, leading to price increases across the globe. For a significant part of the year, we were challenged by volatile grain prices and shipment delays, which impacted our costs of production,” Romano explained.