(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Zad Holding Company (formerly Qatar Flour Mills) has announced to expand its production capacity by 150 metric tonnes per day (mtpd), up 22 percent from the existing capacity.
Zad Holding, the main producer of wheat flour in Qatar, as part of efforts to meet the growing demand for the primary ingredient used to produce bakery items, has recently completed the expansion of flour mill's capacity with an additional 70 mtpd, thus increasing the total production to 670 mtpd in 2014.
"We have just finished the expansion of the existing lines by 70 mtpd, and in the process of establishing a brand new milling line with an additional capacity of 150 mtpd, which is expected to be completed by early 2016," said Tarique Mohmmad, CEO of Zad Holding.
Mohmmad, speaking to this newspaper yesterday on the sidelines of the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM), added: "We have just placed the order for the machineries which will take nearly six months' time to deliver, and it takes about equal time in testing and commissioning the production line."
On the expected growth in country's flour demand, he said the company is always ahead of the estimated demand for flour.
"Since a big portion of flour is here subsidised, it's the government that decides on the quota they want to release according to the rate of growth of population. As far as grains (wheat) is concerned, we try to keep a year worth of stocks, and we also maintain sufficient stock of flour close to a month period," he added.
"The company is not relying on one production line. We have four diversified lines so that if something goes wrong with one, we still have three more," he said.
"It is true that we are a significant player, but there is a good quantity of flour imported from the UAE and other countries. They are equally competitive as they don't have to pay any import duties here so they can compete with us. And also, they have a comparative advantage over us in terms of the size of the port. Their port is so big that they can receive vessels three times larger than that of ours."
Meanwhile, the AGM approved all the agenda of the meeting, including the Board's recommendation for a distribution of 40 percent cash dividends to the shareholders of the company for the year ended December 31, 2014.
The company's net profit has increased by 45.2 percent to QR181.7m in 2014 compared to QR125.1m in 2013, and earning per share (EPS) increased to QR8.43 up by QR2.62 per share from QR5.81 in 2013.
Further, as per the resolution passed in the company's AGM in 2008, it provided QR4.28m for Zakat for the year 2014.
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