Almarai eyes sukuk issue by year-end to refinance debt: CFO

Saudi dairy producer Almarai expects to issue a new sukuk by the end of this year as part of an ongoing debt refinancing strategy, chief financial officer, Paul Gay, told the UAE-based The National newspaper on Sunday, without further details about the issue size.

Advisors have yet to be appointed for the planned issue. Almarai paid back its previous capital sukuk of SAR 1.7 billion in September, and has around SAR 12 billion worth of debt on its balance sheet, he added.

“We have no plans to grow our debt facilities – on the contrary, we are working on a process to refinance our existing debt, and are considering options for a new sukuk which we plan to issue before the end of the year,” Gay said.

Meanwhile, Gay ruled out plans to enter any new markets for the rest of the year, declining to comment on any potential acquisitions.

“We are focusing on delivering quality products to our customers in a challenging market,” he added.

Almarai reported on Sunday a 4.9 percent drop year-on-year in Q3 2018 net profit, on higher cost of sales and a general contraction in the market, Argaam reported.