Sano-Bruno Enterprises (TASE: SANO1;SANO5) is getting into food. In the next few days, the company will start marketing coffee products in Romania. This is Sano's first step in the food industry. The company intends to expand activity in this area, depending how successful it is.
In July, Sano set up a Romanian subsidiary called "Rom Café", with the aim of dealing in the distribution and marketing of coffee and related products in Romania. Sano owns 51% of Rom Café. In addition, Sano set up a 60%-owned company in Ukraine at the beginning of the year. Both Sano subsidiaries will distribute Sano products.
"Everything that we sell abroad we try to produce in Israel. We already have sales running at $10 million annually in Romania. As far as Ukraine is concerned, it's too early to tell, but, in general, the potential in Ukraine is higher than in Romania," Sano CEO Alex Landsberg says.
Sources inform "Globes" that Sano seeks to sell its entire stake in Shaniv Paper Industries. Shaniv has a market cap of NIS 166 million on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Last month, Sano started selling Shaniv shares on the market, and its stake, which was 41%, now amounts to 39%. Once it finds a suitable investor, Sano will sell all of its holding in Shaniv.
Shaniv produces raw materials for paper and finished paper products, mainly under private labels.
Landsberg refused to comment on the report of the share sale, but he told "Globes", "We don't run Shaniv and we aren't involved there in any way. We have no influence over what happens there."
The financial statements submitted to the stock market indicate an especially successful quarter for Sano. The company posted 12% growth in sales, which totaled NIS 236 million, compared with NIS 210 million in the corresponding quarter of 2006. Operating profit fell a little, amounting to NIS 28 million (12% of sales), compared with NIS 29 million in the corresponding quarter. Nevertheless, the company's net profit rose 14% to NIS 23 million, compared with NIS 20 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
In this year's second quarter, Sano posted sales growth in every area in which it operates, including paper products, sales of which grew 3% to NIS 65 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 30, 2007
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