The sale of Plantaže products has increased by 14% since the beginning of the year, and after two years of delay, all obligations to the workers have been paid, announced the executive director of Plantaže, Igor Čađenović.
He said that the company now regularly settles debts to banks and suppliers.
– We are doing everything to make last year, which we must say was extremely difficult and challenging in terms of production, the last year with a negative result – said Čađenović.
The company ended last year with a loss of EUR 12.9 million, which, as he explained, was affected by damage of EUR 8 million due to weather, high municipal real estate taxes, an increase in the prices of packaging, protective agents and fuel, as well as reservation costs of over EUR 5 million due to the increase in the estimated value of real estate. Losses are also affected by numerous doubts inherited from previous years.
Čađenović stated that Plantaže wines are a brand that deserves great consumer trust and are exported to over 40 countries around the world.
– We are especially pleased by the fact that our classic and premium series of wines, as well as olive oil, are achieving significant growth. I believe that these indicators are the result of daily work in the field and serious dealing with the existing markets, but also continuous efforts to secure the placement of our wines on new markets – assessed Čađenović.
If the tourist season meets expectations, and Čađenović hopes it will, and if there are no significant fluctuations in foreign markets, they expect this season to be more successful than the previous one.
He stated that exports in the first half of the year make up almost 45% of total sales and are eight percent higher in financial terms and five percent in terms of quantity compared to the same period last year.
– Despite a lot of challenges on foreign markets, which are the result of global political and economic instability, we believe that this trend will continue until the end of the year. As I said, we are continuously working on opening new markets, with the fact that we must keep in mind that entering each new market is a process that lasts and requires large investments – said Čađenović.
This year, the first container with their wines was shipped to Kenya, and they expect to soon ship the goods to Turkey.
Čađenović, when asked whether the company’s debts have been reduced in this period, i.e. whether the obligations to employees have been settled and whether installments for tax debt are paid regularly according to the reprogram with the Revenue Administration, as well as obligations to suppliers and banks, answered that the current convocation of the Board of Directors and the management of Plantaže are dedicated and continuously working on financial consolidation, increasing efficiency, optimization and reducing costs.
– Our goal is that in the coming period, the Plantaže will continue to exhibit tendencies of growth and development at all levels. For now, we can say that we are extremely satisfied with the income from the sale of products and services for the first half of the year. The indicators show that they are 14% higher compared to the comparable period last year – stated Čađenović.
He said that it is important to emphasize that in the first six months of the current year, they managed to establish regularity in the payment of wages to employees, after more than two years, and that at the moment there is no debt on that basis.
– Last year we had bank blockades that significantly threatened current liquidity, which is not the case this year, given that we have no delays based on existing credit arrangements. From the moment when at the end of last year the reprogramming was carried out at all commercial banks with which we have credit obligations, the obligations to creditors are paid within 30 days. Also, we directed significant funds to pay debts to suppliers – said Čađenović.
As he added, production is being realized according to the planned dynamics, and these are all indicators that encourage and hint that the coming years will be a year of recovery for Plantaže.
– The positive trend is also reflected in the value of Plantaže shares on the stock exchange, so in the last few days there have been sales of the company’s shares on the stock exchange at a price of 30 cents, which is an encouraging indicator compared to the previous period and realized sales worth 12 cents – concluded Čađenović.
