Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - Quote

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - Profile

The origins of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc date back to the 1920’s when the local brewery, L. Farrugia & Sons Limited and the British beer importation firm, H & G Simonds merged to form Simonds Farsons Limited. On 6 April 1948, Simonds Farsons Limited acquired a rival brewery, Marquis John Scicluna’s ‘Cisk’ forming Simonds Farsons Cisk Limited.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc is the parent company of the Farsons Group. Through a number of subsidiaries, the Group is engaged in (i) the brewing, production and sale of beer and branded beverages, (ii) the importation and distribution of wines, spirits and foodstuffs and (iii) the operation of food retailing establishments under world renowned franchises namely Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc is the largest beverage manufacturer in Malta. The Company produces and distributes its own award winning brands such as Kinnie and Cisk. Moreover, it has been appointed by PepsiCo Int. Ltd as exclusive franchisee to produce, bottle, sell and distribute other renowned brands such as 7UP and Pepsi in Malta and Gozo. SFC has a long-term agreement with Carlsberg Breweries to brew, bottle and market Carlsberg and Skol beers in Malta and an agreement with Anheuser-Busch to bottle and distribute Budweiser in Malta.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc mainly exports Cisk and Kinnie to various countries, across Europe, North Africa, North America and Australasia.

In November 2007, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc completed a €24 million development relating to a new soft-drinks packaging centre and a new logistics centre. This project was undertaken in 2005 in order to increase efficiency, improve quality, and prepare for full liberalisation of soft drinks as from January 2008.

In May 2008, the Board of Directors approved the revaluation of the company’s land and buildings amounting to €55.5 million less deferred taxation of €11.1 million resulting in a net surplus of €44.4 million. This surplus was credited to the company’s reserves forming part of shareholder’s equity.

On 25 February 2010, the Board of Directors approved an investment of €14 million in a new brewhouse, a quality controlled laboratory and a water treatment plant. The new brewhouse will be fully automated leading to improved product consistency, decreased production costs and sufficient capacity for the foreseeable future. This project, which is expected to be completed by the summer of 2012, is the third and final phase of the €40 million investment in the Group’s production plants in Mriehel. Following the completion of the third phase, the Group plans to spin-off its property portfolio, which will include the then vacant 23,000 square metre Mriehel façade, through a separate listing of its property subsidiary – Trident Developments Ltd.

Main Subsidiaries

As at 31 January 2011, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc’s main subsidiaries were:

• Quintano Foods Limited (100%): In April 2004, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc acquired the assets of Law. Quintano & Co. Limited, a long established leader in the importation, marketing and distribution of food business. The Company boasts brand names such as Danone, Quaker, Rupp, Dairygold, Bayernland, Amoy, Rajah, Calvé, Cooperlat, LU, Jacob’s and Saiwa.
• Food Chain (Holdings) Limited (100%): Set up in 1993 to operate franchised fast food companies such as Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC.
• Farsons Beverage Imports Company Limited (100%): This wholly owned subsidiary, originally set up in 1980 as Wands Ltd, acts as the importation arm of the Group. It is mainly engaged in the importation and distribution of wines, spirits and beers.
• Eco-Pure Limited (100%): Eco-Pure was originally set up as a joint venture with American Liquid Packaging Systems of California, USA. The Company has been operating since 1995 and is responsible for the marketing, sales and distribution of water in containers and dispensers.
• Trident Developments Limited (100%): A wholly owned subsidiary set up in 2000 with the objective of acquiring, managing, and developing the property of the Group. Its property portfolio includes the Group’s distribution centres (most of which have been sold to date), freehold properties leased to Food Chain (Holdings) Ltd, as well as a number of properties leased to third parties. It also holds the title to the landmark site “Il-Fortizza” in Sliema. The intention of the Board of Directors is to transfer the 23,000 square metre frontage site on Mriehel Road and the 12,000 square metre Wands Ltd site in Qormi to this subsidiary. Subsequently, the aim is to spin off Trident Developments Ltd into a separately listed entity on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Share Capital

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc was admitted to the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange on 20 December 1995 with an issued share capital of €6,988,120 split across 24,000,000 shares with a nominal value of €0.291171 per share.

In September 2002 the Board of Directors of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc approved a rights issue of 1,714,286 new shares with a nominal value of €0.291171 each. The new shares were offered at the price of €1.3976 per share to existing shareholders on the basis of 1 new share for every 14 shares held. The rights issue raised €2,329,373 and increased the issued share capital of the Company to €9,317,493 split into 25,714,286 ordinary shares with a nominal value of €0.291171 each.

Following Malta’s adoption of the euro on 1 January 2008, the shareholders, approved the capitalisation of €227,031.44 from the Company’s reserves in order to round up the shares’ nominal value from €0.291171 to €0.30 per share.

Shareholders also approved a 1 for 6 bonus issue which was funded through the capitalisation of €1,285,714 from the Company’s reserves. This increased the issued share capital from 25,714,286 shares to 30,000,000 shares of €0.30 each fully paid up.

Bond Issues

In October 2002, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc raised €13,976,240 by way of two bond issues, one giving a coupon of 6.25% maturing between 2006 and 2008 and another bond issue with a coupon of 6.6%  due between 2010 and 2012. The proceeds from the bonds raised was used to fund the redemption of €6,988,120 6% net cumulative preference shares 2001-2003 as well as reduce bank borrowings.

On 2 November 2006, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc redeemed the €4,658,747 6.25% 2006-2008 Bonds.

In June 2010, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc issued a new €15 million bond issue carrying a coupon of 6% and maturing between 2017 and 2020. The proceeds were used to fund the redemption of the €9,317,493 6.6% 2010-2012 Bonds. The balance was used to support the general funding purposes of the Group.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - Financials

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc Interim Accounts

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Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - Downloads

• Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - Investor Fact Sheet (132.9 KiB, 105 hits)
• Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - 2011 Annual Report (6.4 MiB, 419 hits)
• Farsons - A resilient business model - 20 May 2010 (135.0 KiB, 317 hits)
• Simonds Farsons Cisk plc - 2010 Annual Report (3.6 MiB, 378 hits)