BinDawood Holding sales start to normalize, 5 stores eyed by year-end: CEO

Ahmad Abdulrazzaq BinDawood, CEO of BinDawood Holding Co.

BinDawood Holding Co.’s sales started returning to normal levels over the last 12 months, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ahmad Abdulrazzaq BinDawood told Argaam in a telephone interview, expecting the company to maintain the first-half financials or report higher sales in the second half of the year.

The company improved its profit margins, as the first-half profit margins expanded to an all-time high of 34.4%. BinDawood Holding also continued its efforts to develop new systems and services to improve its inventory management, slash costs, and maintain the quality of its services and products.

The second-quarter sales maintained the previous quarter level, the CEO said, noting that these results reflect the retail chain’s positive response to market challenges and its better performance on all financial levels and indicators.

Moreover, BinDawood Holding plans to open five new Danube stores by year-end. This move enhances the company’s readiness and position to enter into the next stage. The company expects above-average revenue growth and a significant net profit rise during that period.

The first Danube store will open by August-end, while the remaining four branches - a mix of supermarkets and hypermarkets - will be launched by the year-end, BinDawood explained.

Meanwhile, BinDawood Holding is pursuing plans to open two new BinDawood stores next year and is working on improving its Danube online and BinDawood application.

The company owns 47 Danube stores and 27 BinDawood stores across strategic locations in the Kingdom, whether in major cities or regions.

BinDawood expected the Saudi retailer to draw a clearer outlook by early September, especially after the end of summer, return to school and the ease of movement restrictions that were imposed on vaccinated pilgrims.

BinDawood Holding reported a net profit after Zakat and tax of SAR 157.1 million for the first half of 2021, a drop of 50% from SAR 311.7 million in the year-ago period.