With the attempt to delist from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange through a merger with parent company Nestle in the background, Osem Investments Ltd. (controlled by Nestl? SA (SWX:NESN)) (TASE: OSEM) reported its fourth quarter and full year 2015 results this evening.
Osem had sales of NIS 4.2 billion in 2015, 2% less than in 2014. Sales in the fourth quarter totaled NIS 1 billion, 3% less than in the corresponding quarter of 2014.
The company attributes the decline in sales to, among other things, discounts partly arising from implementation of the Food Law and partly from sales campaigns.
Sales in the local market fell 1.5% in 2015 to NIS 3.5 billion while export sales fell 4.6% to NIS 645 million. The decline in overseas sales was mainly due to the cessation of sales of a group of loss-making meat substitute products in the US under the Veggie Patch brand.
Gross profit fell 5.6% in 2015 to NIS 1.7 billion and operating profit fell 1.2% to NIS 536 million. Fourth quarter operating profit fell 6.5% to NIS 124 million.
Osem's net profit fell 3.1% in 2015 to NIS 384 million. Fourth quarter net profit fell 6.7% to NIS 90 million.
The deterioration in its results, both quarterly and annual, did not prevent the company from awarding generous compensation to its senior executives. CEO Itzik Saig's salary cost was NIS 4.17 million in 2015, while chairman Dan Propper's salary cost was NIS 3.63 million. Three VPs earned NIS 2.4-2.9 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 10, 2016
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