1.4%
91.5%
3%
1.5%
8.5%
24.1%
Savola transformed our flagship CSR program Savola World, from a department into a standalone private foundation, called Savola World Foundation. The new non-profit organization will extend the Group’s Sustainability and CSR programs, under the supervision of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.
In line with the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision and the Company’s active social engagement strategy, Savola sponsored and supported Saudi productive families through a special community event at Savola Tower. The 3 day event held under the slogan ‘One Family’, brought together Savola employees with productive families from the community, offering them a great platform to sell their homemade products and interact directly with customers in a lively and positive environment.
A testament to our commitment to creating a positive, diverse and engaging workplace for all our employees, Savola was ranked 17th in this year’s ranking of Saudi Arabia’s Best Workplaces, published by leading global workplace culture authority Great Place to Work® Middle East.
PandaClick, a new ecommerce platform for grocery purchases and deliveries from Panda, was launched to provide customers across the Kingdom with a quick and convenient way to shop for their favorite brands with just a few clicks, at home or on the move.
A leading business and financial publication, Forbes Middle East Magazine, ranked Savola 14th in Saudi Arabia and 39th in the Middle East based on market value, sales, assets and profits in its annual list of Top 100 companies in the region.
We prioritized the physical health and mental wellbeing of our 24,000+ employees through a wide range of actions and investments, raising awareness and ensuring alignment with all government regulations and requirements, whilst empowering them to ensure that our Group and operating companies would remain operational and capable of fulfilling our promises to our customers, community and nation.
We took immediate action to engage and support our customers, accelerating our digital transformation and automation, bolstering our logistics and distribution networks and launching Panda’s new eCommerce platform.
We did not stop investing in our turnaround or the strategy that will shape the future of our Group, delivering solid returns for our shareholders while launching a venture capital program for disruptive investments in food and retail to continue to enhance our portfolio and unlock avenues for future growth.
We doubled down on our position at the heart of our communities and our critical food security role across our markets, ensuring supply of goods during the darkest days of the pandemic while reinforcing our long-term commitment to sustainable social impact by establishing Savola World Foundation.
The strength of our strategy and pride of our people were fundamental to the Company’s capacity to overcome obstacles and continue to create value for our diverse stakeholder community. Bolstered by robust risk management and corporate governance at every level of the organization, Savola capitalized on the opportunities that arose in this challenging environment whilst establishing a solid foundation for sustained growth and profitability in the years ahead.
One of the largest food and retail players in the region with an annual turnover of over SAR 22 billion
Ranked 14th in Saudi Arabia and 39th in the Middle East in Forbes Middle East’s annual list of Top 100 companies in the region
#1 basic food business in MENA, Savola has market leading positions and brands across consumer staples and value-added ranges, such as edible oils, sugar, pasta and frozen food
#1 grocery retailer in Saudi Arabia, Panda has strong brand equity and over 28% market share in the attractive and under-penetrated modern retail space of the GCC’s largest market
Largest shareholder in 2 leading Saudi consumer brands, Almarai and Herfy, as well as popular frozen food brand, Al Kabeer
Dominant retail footprint with 200+ Panda and HyperPanda stores in 40+ cities across the Kingdom, with 100+ million annual transactions and the largest logistics network in Saudi Arabia
Direct manufacturing and distribution strength in more than 8 countries, with 14 facilities serving a combined population of more than 400 million
Attractive exposure to large and growing population base with favorable demographics - more than 50% below the age of 35 years.
Extensive consumer, market and brand knowledge, successfully leveraged to launch, grow and maintain market- leading positions and products (e.g. Afia, Al Osra, etc.)
Continuous customer-centric innovation and product development based on deep consumer outreach to capitalize on strategic opportunities to launch and scale new businesses in the rapidly maturing and evolving consumer space in MENA and beyond
Unique investment holding business model that allows for strategic investments and value creation in the MENA consumer food and retail space
Experienced leadership team with clear mandate to deploy and/or reallocate capital to enhance shareholder returns through investments in consumer segments with long-term growth potential
40+ year track record of business growth, active capital reallocation and long-term investment horizon
Actively exploring multiple venues of investments in food and retail to help drive sustainable growth for the Group for years to come
By converting the challenges of 2020 into opportunities, we have not only successfully navigated a complex environment but also charted a course toward continued growth and success.
Savola has not only stood firm in the face of this adversity, but succeeded in achieving remarkable results.
Bachelor’s degree of Economics, University of Virginia, USA Certified Financial Analyst (CFA)
Bachelor’s degree of Economics, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Ph.D. in Business Administration and International Finance, George Washington University, USA
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree of Accounting, Kuwait University
Member of Kuwait Association of Accountants and Auditors
Member of Kuwait Economic Society
Advanced Management and Leadership Program, Oxford University, UK
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Saudia Arabia with First Degree Honors
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics, Babson College, USA
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with Honors, The George Washington University, USA
Associate of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants
Fellow of the Institute of Taxation Management
Bachelor’s degree of Finance, Karachi University, Pakistan
Professional qualifications in Chartered Accountancy
Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales
Bachelor’s degree and MBA, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Sudan
Certified Corporate Governance, Board and Committees Secretary
Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Lehigh University, USA
Master’s degree in Business Information Technology, DePaul University, USA
Licensed Certified Public Accountant, USA
Chartered Global Management Accountant
Association of International and Professional Accountants
Bachelor’s degree of Science, Industrial Engineering, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
By converting the challenges of 2020 into opportunities, we have not only successfully navigated a complex environment but also charted a course toward continued growth and success.
We have remained true to our commitments to the people of the Kingdom, contributing to the Ministry of Health’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis and doing our part to ensure food security for the people and communities across Saudi Arabia.
As a market leader in food and retail, Savola has leveraged its considerable supply chain strength to support the government, the nation and its people by ensuring the supply of essential consumer goods throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic. True to our robust strategy, we have also succeeded in turning the challenges of the year into opportunities for growth and development, benefitting our investors with higher returns while also serving our many customers and communities more effectively.
In the face of the extensive disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we have safeguarded both our people and our profitability by proactively adapting to the current situation whilst also maintaining the essence of our robust and coherent strategy.
We have remained true to our commitments to the people, contributing to the Ministry of Health’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis and doing our part to ensure food security for the people and communities.
Our considerable presence in the food and retail spaces has empowered us to work closely with our full ecosystem of suppliers and partners to play a critical role in the continued supply of essential goods, despite the difficult conditions imposed by the pandemic.
By adapting our services to meet this new reality, as well as implementing new technological solutions and maintaining robust supply lines, we are well positioned to continue to safeguard the Kingdom’s food security as the nation maintains its ongoing stand against the pandemic.
By converting the challenges of 2020 into opportunities, we have not only successfully navigated a complex environment but also charted a course toward continued growth and success.
In 2020, Savola created a new investment program aimed at capitalizing on global consumer trends by co-investing in new, disruptive technologies in food and retail. This includes a new framework designed to ensure investments remain focused on key objectives related to shareholder value and returns while also enhancing the technological capabilities of the Group’s operating subsidiaries.
The ultimate goals of the program are to better understand trends among the younger generations who will drive our business going forward; tilt our existing portfolios in a proactive manner; and allow us to position Savola at the leading edge of technology and innovation through the development of selected partnerships and smart acquisitions.
Savola remains at the forefront of our market in terms of corporate governance. This is exemplified by our commitment to enhancing corporate value by ensuring the Group fulfills its commitments to its shareholders, employees, communities and other stakeholders.
Our leadership in this field is enabled by our effective corporate governance framework, regular interactive communications with all stakeholders and the implementation of best practices. These efforts have received national recognition; Savola has been ranked among the top 10 non-financial sector companies traded on the Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul, in the Corporate Governance Index (CGI) issued by the Corporate Governance Center at Al Faisal University.
In order to attract and retain exceptional talent, we have repurchased shares worth more than SAR 16.5 million (USD 4.4 million) during 2020. They will be kept as treasury shares within the framework of the first tranche of our long-term incentive program (LTIP). We have also allocated them to eligible employees, according to the approved policy and standards of the program, which we expect will continue to achieve the desired goal over the coming years.
The central role of sustainability in our business, and our multiple initiatives to create a more socially and environmentally responsible company, testify to our commitments to building stronger, healthier communities and a cleaner natural environment.
In line with international developments in the field of corporate foundations, Savola formalized this mission by transforming its flagship CSR program, Savola World, into a standalone private foundation. The Savola World Foundation is a non-profit organization under the supervision of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in Saudi Arabia; this status enables the Foundation to champion more effectively its sustainability and social development initiatives, including those which reflect the objectives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Through the Foundation, we continue to deliver lasting change both for our people and for the wider communities among which we operate. As part of our COVID-19 response, we dedicated a total of SAR 10 million to initiatives during 2020, including through our support for the Kingdom’s Health Endowment Fund. We also produced a series of awareness videos that went viral on a number of social media platforms, aimed at building collective public awareness with regard to measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and became one of the first organizations in Saudi Arabia to adopt the newly introduced Saudi National Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Our CSR activities also serve to increase our appeal among international investors. In line with the foreign direct investment goals outlined in Saudi Vision 2030, Savola was one of the Saudi companies added to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in 2019.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to welcome our new CEO, Mr. Waleed Khalid Fatani, under whose fresh direction and leadership we aim to deliver great progress toward our strategic goals in the coming years. I would also like to thank our former CEO, Anees Moumina, for his leadership and dedication to our collective success.
I wish to convey the Board’s appreciation to the Saudi government, our shareholders and our stakeholders for their continued support and trust in Savola. I would also like to thank our hard-working employees across our extensive footprint and our dedicated Executive Management in Saudi Arabia and abroad for delivering exceptional performance throughout 2020 and for playing a critical role in keeping us on track to realize our strategic goals in the face of the challenges presented by the pandemic.
As we look to 2021 and beyond, Savola will remain focused on securing increasing value for our people, communities, investors and other stakeholders; whilst also capturing the benefits of innovative technologies to power our growth and success.
Savola has not only stood firm in the face of this adversity, but succeeded in achieving remarkable results.
Savola has succeeded in transforming adversity into opportunity during this challenging year, delivering a variety of initiatives that have served to secure our continued growth and performance. Led by the insights of our experienced Board and astute Executive Management and powered by our dedicated colleagues, Savola made strong efforts to overcome the challenges presented by the pandemic and almost doubled its profitability for the year compared to the previous year. We have maintained our positive momentum from the previous year while launching a venture capital program to drive further sustainable growth and to augment our operating companies in 2021.
I am proud to have recently joined Savola as the Chief Executive Officer and I appreciate the opportunity to work alongside such an inspiring team to achieve further outstanding results for our shareholders in the years to come.
In what has been a highly challenging period for people and businesses all over the world as they have sought to contain the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Savola has not only stood firm in the face of this adversity but succeeded in achieving remarkable results.
Thanks to our resilience, both in terms of our operations and the outstanding commitment of our people, we have met the challenge head-on, adapting to the new reality through innovation, while maintaining the focus on our strategic goals. In this way, Savola has succeeded in creating opportunities in the midst of current challenges, capitalizing on e-commerce channels to serve its customers more effectively during the measures to contain the virus.
Given the potential implications of the pandemic for the nation, Savola was highly conscious of its role as a pillar of the Kingdom’s food security. With the onset of the pandemic, a notable rise in volumes was evident as people began stockpiling essential items.
The Group therefore began coordinating closely with government agencies to ensure the integrity of the supply chain and the continued movement of goods to satisfy demand in the face of shortages.
Throughout the crisis, we have remained fully aware of our responsibilities to protect the health and wellbeing of our people and our customers across our entire operating footprint. With the onset of the pandemic, we immediately moved to ensure all our premises were made safe, in coordination and cooperation with the relevant authorities.
Those employees who were able to fulfil their roles remotely began working from home to reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting the virus, with high-risk individuals being prioritized. We also implemented state-of-the art monitoring, powered by leading technologies, to preserve workplace and customer safety, sharing our experiences and best practices to benefit other companies and organizations to assist in limiting the spread of the virus.
Savola achieved revenue of SAR 21.7 billion in 2020, representing an increase of 1.4% over 2019. Our gross profit for 2020 was SAR 4.64 billion – 3% higher than in 2019 – while EBITDA grew by 10.8% to reach SAR 2.78 billion.
Savola Foods Company (SFC) generated SAR 8.64 billion in revenue and achieved 3.1 million metric tons in sales volumes during the year. Meanwhile Panda Retail, which remains the largest modern retailer in Saudi Arabia, delivered SAR 11.6 billion in revenue.
Frozen foods player, Al Kabeer Group of Companies, in which Savola holds a 51% shareholding, posted revenue of SAR 737 million. For the year, Almarai – 34.52% of which is owned by Savola – generated revenue of SAR 15.36 billion, and Herfy, in which the Group maintains a 49% share, delivered revenue of SAR 1.07 billion.
Savola continues to be a leader in our home market of Saudi Arabia and plays a key role in many of our other markets. Given this strategic position in the food and retail sectors of the MENA region, Forbes Middle East Magazine ranked Savola 14th in the Kingdom and 39th in the region in its ‘Top 100 companies in the Middle East for 2020’.
Our focus in 2020 remained concentrated on the goal of supporting and growing our operating companies in the food and retail spaces. Given the demands of the COVID-19 crisis, we concentrated our efforts on our new e-commerce platform, as well as on factory modernization and our disruptive food and retail technology investment programs.
Thanks to our efforts to optimize expenses, we have secured an increase in profit over 2019. In 2020, the higher value-added products in our portfolio allowed us to achieve higher margins and profitability. We have also secured more cost-effective practices among our operating companies in 2020, having established a program to identify and implement potential synergies across the Group.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, SFC restructured production lines, whilst also making sure our supply chain was robust and open so factories could continue to work and meet demands. Our expense rationalization program also continued to achieve results, reducing costs and generating efficiencies.
We also worked closely with the team at Al Kabeer, achieving solid growth and performance, and capitalizing on a changing market dynamic driven by more at-home cooking by expanding our product range. Almarai, too, saw notable growth and a range of product launches, despite the prevailing conditions.
Despite the turmoil experienced throughout the year, 2020 saw the continued turnaround of our Panda retail business with a return to full-year profitability, which benefited positively from the COVID-19 impact.
Having quickly identified the changing needs of our customers and our market in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we accelerated the launch of PandaClick, our new e-commerce platform for grocery purchases and deliveries from Panda.
2020 was a challenging year, in particular for Herfy, which saw lower sales compared to 2019 as a result of the direct and indirect effects. Nonetheless, the success of our 2 production facilities – meat and bread, helped to reduce the impact of the closure of dine-in restaurants and consumer preferences to eat/cook at home.
Given the global threat posed by the pandemic, we placed significant emphasis on maintaining the health, safety and well- being of our employees in 2020. In particular, we focused on awareness and education; by ensuring clear messages were communicated to our people across the Group, we were able to both distribute preventative advice and maintain complete transparency regarding our response to the spread of COVID-19.
We recognize that our people are key to our success and worked throughout 2020 to develop and deploy a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) to provide additional methods of retaining key talent across Savola. The LTIP will be expanded in the coming years to cover an increasing number of roles.
In keeping with the goals of the nation and the Saudi Vision 2030, we are committed to Nationalization, with the proportion of Saudi employees in Savola reaching 37% of our total workforce in 2020, representing a 21% increase over 2019. We have also enhanced our succession planning for key positions across the organization during the year to ensure appropriate governance and contingencies with respect to the future of our business.
We look forward to securing the continued growth of our core business in the coming year, capitalizing on the foundations laid in 2020, while also looking for potential new venues to ensure the sustainability of our growth trajectory.
To all of our employees, I thank you for your steadfast dedication and contributions to our success during this year. Likewise, to our supportive Board of Directors, experienced Executive Management team and all of our stakeholders, I am grateful for your resilience and ability to come together to transform a challenging year into one marked by opportunity and growth.
Our values underpin everything we do, they are a blueprint for concrete actions we take as individuals, as a team and as a company, every day. Since the Group was founded in 1979, this is how we do business:
PERSONAL VALUES
GROUP VALUES
CORPORATE VALUES
Our Strategy and Business Model
Savola is a strategic investment holding company with a thematic investment program focused on the food and retail sectors, with the aim of creating value by enabling and accelerating growth levers in the underlying portfolio to achieve scale and profitability.
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Savola is established, with a paid-up capital of SAR 40 million and 50 employees.
Savola’s edible oil refinery in Jeddah, the first in Saudi Arabia, begins operations.
Launch of Afia premium corn oil. By the late 1980s, Savola captures 70% of the Saudi edible oil market.
Acquisition of a 40% shareholding in Almarai.
Savola becomes a publicly listed company on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).
Savola Bahrain and Savola Egypt commence edible oil operations.
Joint venture with Tate & Lyle to establish United Sugar Company, Saudi Arabia’s first sugar refinery.
Afia International Egypt is formed through the merger of Savola Egypt and SIME Derby Egypt.
Savola Foods establishes an edible oil factory in Egypt.
Savola enters the retail sector, following its merger with Azizia Panda.
Savola gains a 70% stake in Herfy through the Panda merger.
Savola Foods establishes edible oil businesses in Morocco and Sudan.
Panda launches the Hyper Panda format.
Savola establishes Kinan Real Estate, subsequently divesting 70% through private placement.
Savola invests in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and Knowledge Economic City as a founding shareholder.
Panda acquires Giant Stores and opens its first central distribution center in Riyadh.
Panda acquires Géant Stores operations and expands its network to 152 locations.
Savola launches its first CSR program, ‘Makeen’, to train and empower people with disabilities.
Herfy is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) with Savola retaining 49% of its shares.
Standard & Poor’s, Hawkamah and the International Finance Corporation rank Savola 2nd among top-listed companies in the Arab world for governance and transparency.
Savola Foods enters the pasta market by acquiring El Maleka Company and El Farasha Company in Egypt.
Savola’s first Sukuk issuance (SAR 1.5 billion).
Savola acquires Al Muhaidib’s shares in Panda (18.6%) and Savola Foods (10%) in exchange for the issue of 33.9 million new Savola shares through a capital increase to SAR 5.34 billion.
Savola Foods enters the seafood business with global seafood leader, Thai Union, to launch the famous John West brand in 12 markets across the MENA region.
Savola Foods launches Afia Distribution Company in Saudi Arabia.
Savola unveils a new brand identity, symbolizing its evolution to a strategic investment holding company.
Savola receives the Sa’afa Award from the Integrity and Transparency Foundation.
Savola sells a 2% stake in Almarai, as a part of its capital re-allocation, whilst remaining the largest shareholder with a 34.52% stake.
Savola ranks top 10 for transparency in corporate governance, environment and social practices in MENA by S&P and Dow Jones indices and Hawkamah.
Savola launches its second CSR program, ‘Negaderha’.
Savola Foods commissions a new factory in Jeddah to manufacture specialty fats for the B2B market.
Savola Foods establishes a joint venture in Iraq with Aves to create Bonus Food Company LLC, which is engaged in the refining and packaging of edible oils and vegetable ghee.
Savola acquires a majority stake (51%) in Al Kabeer, one of the region’s leading frozen foods companies.
Savola issues the 2nd tranche of Sukuk, pursuant to a new program in an aggregate amount of SAR 1 billion.
Savola among the 31 companies added to MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International), as part Tadawul’s inclusion into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
Standard & Poor’s, Hawkamah and the International Finance Corporation rank Savola 4th among top-listed companies in the Arab world for governance and transparency.
Savola named among Top 20 Great Places To Work® in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Savola ranked top 10 among all non-financial sector companies traded on Tadawul in the Corporate Governance Index (CGI) by Al Faisal University’s Corporate Governance Center.
Savola was among the ‘Top 100 companies in the Middle East’ for 2020 according to Forbes Middle East, ranked 14th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 39th in the Middle East.
Our portfolio of food brands are industry champions and market leaders in the key economies they operate in.
Our resilient retail portfolio delivered an encouraging performance in 2020, establishing strong foundations for future growth.
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