Northern kibbutzim Dalia and Ramot Menashe have taken advantage of the strong gains in the share price of water metering solutions company Arad Group (TASE:ARD) to sell some of their controlling stake.
Last week Kibbutz Dalia sold shares for NIS 18 million at NIS 57 per share, after Arad's share price has risen 40% since the start of 2023. In July Kibbutz Ramot Menashe shares for NIS 41 million at NIS 55 per share. These share sells follow the company's improved results under CEO Gabi Yankovitz and chairman Hugo Chaufan.
This is not the first time the kibbutzim have sold shares in Arad. In May 2020, Kibbutz Dalia sold shares for NIS 156 million at NIS 53 per share and in December 2021, Kibbutz Ramot Menashe sold shares for NIS 48 million at NIS 48 per share. In recent years Kibbutz Ramot Menashe and Kibbutz Dalia have sold 20% of the company for NIS 263 million.
After the latest round of share selling Kibbutz Ramot Menashe is left with a 20.1% stake in Arad worth NIS 300 million while Kibbutz Dalia has a 14% stake worth NIS 207 million. Milestones Metering holds a 15.5% stake while institutional investors Clal Insurance, Migdal, Harel and More also hold stakes.
Arad Group provides smart water management through its water metering management and control systems and by designing, developing and manufacturing high quality meters, automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems, as well as advanced MDM systems and technologies.
In the first half of 2023, revenue rose 18% from the corresponding period of 2022 to $190 million, due to increased sales in Europe and North America. Net profit in the first half of the year rose 40% to $16 million. Net profit in all of 2022 was $17.4 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 21, 2023.
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