#Kuwait’s Mezzan Looks for Acquisitions to Sustain Growth - Bloomberg

Kuwait’s Mezzan Looks for Acquisitions to Sustain Growth - Bloomberg

Kuwait-based food and beverage firm Mezzan Holding Co. is on the lookout for acquisitions to help sustain double-digit growth, according to its chief executive officer.

“We, like everybody else, would be actively on the lookout for the right bolt-on acquisitions,” Garry Walsh told Bloomberg TV in an interview. “We’re obviously more skewed toward manufacturing -- that has been our main driver over the last few years.”

Mezzan, one of the largest FMCG manufacturers and distributors in the Gulf, reported a 12% jump in nine-month profit to 10.3 million dinars ($34 million). The company also operates in Iraq, Jordan and Afghanistan, and its shares have gained 22% this year compared with a 13% drop for the benchmark Kuwait stock index.

“The rate of growth might be a bit slower next year as we see some population drain in the UAE and in Kuwait, and potentially in Qatar and Saudi as well,” said Walsh. But Mezzan is well-positioned to return to pre-Covid rates of growth, he said.