Zad Holding plans to build new flour milling line by 2016

06/04/2015 07:28 AST

Zad Holding Company is planning to build a new flour milling line by 2016, which is expected to increase its production capacity by another 150 metric tonnes per day (mtpd), an official told Gulf Times.

Speaking on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting held at the Sharq Village & Spa yesterday, Zad Holding Company CEO Tarique Mohamed said it would take about six months to bring in the needed equipment and "roughly about equal time to commission and test it."

"We are always trying to be ahead of the demand, and in terms of space, we also have it. There are discussions about us being relocated to the new Hamad Port. Once that pushes through, there is a lot of space for expansion, which does not take that much time. In a year, we can add new capacities," Mohamed said.

Zad Holding Company managing director Sheikh Nawaf bin Mohamed bin Jabor al-Thani said the proposed new milling line came in the wake of a recent expansion project completed last year. "The company has successfully completed the expansion of our flour mill's capacity with an additional 70 tonnes per day (tpd), thereby bringing total capacity to 670tpd in 2014," Sheikh Nawaf said.

He added, "In view of the growing economy due to infrastructure development, the company is in the process of expanding asphalt production capacity and logistics facilities, among others. We have also completed the first phase of developing warehouses, and we are also in the process of further enhancing the warehousing capacity, including cold stores this year." Mohamed also said Zad has a 150,000sq m warehousing site in the Industrial Area.

"We've just completed the first phase and the company is now starting preparations for the second phase. Beyond that, we will definitely participate in opportunities such as the logistics village the government is planning to establish," Mohamed said. He also noted that Zad is looking forward to moving to the new Hamad Port in order for the company to compete with other markets.

"Our focus is the local market, but we are also exploring opportunities to export flour outside Qatar. When you look around the flour market, Saudi Arabia is subsidised, Bahrain is subsidised, Kuwait is 100% subsidised, while the UAE has four mills. But once we move to the new port then we could compete with other markets," he said.

Zad Holding Company chairman Sheikh Nasser bin Mohamed bin Jabor al-Thani said net profit increased 45.2% from QR125.1mn in 2013 to QR181.7mn last year. Earnings per share increased QR2.62 per share from QR5.81 to QR8.43 over the previous year.

Also, the AGM yesterday approved the board's recommendation to distribute 40% cash dividend to company shareholders.

Gulf Times