Simonds Farsons Cisk has held its 71st Annual General Meeting when Directors reported an increased performance for the Group to its shareholders. Group Turnover registered a robust 8% increase reaching €95 million whilst profit before taxation increased by 18% reaching €13.5 million.

Farsons’ Chairman, Mr Louis A. Farrugia, reported on the financial highlights of the year and delved on the process followed to spin-off Trident Estates as a separate public listed company in line with the approval by shareholders at the previous AGM held in June 2017.

The Group’s CEO, Mr Norman Aquilina, gave a presentation of the performance by the Group and, whilst reporting that all businesses registered improvements in their performance, he emphasised that the intensity of competitive activity was increasing.  Nevertheless, the Group was seeking growth opportunities both in the local and export markets.  “Farsons is well placed to maximise the benefits of its multi-million investment programme and is further improving its brand proposition,” said Mr Aquilina.

During the meeting, both Dr Max Ganado and Mr Roderick Chalmers were uncontested and re-appointed as Directors.  The composition of the Board remained unchanged, in that Baroness Christiane Ramsay Pergola and Mr Michael Farrugia, who retired in terms of the company’s articles of association, were reconfirmed in their post.

The Annual General Meeting approved the Board’s recommendation of a final dividend of €2.6 million, bringing the total declared dividend for the year to €3.6 million, up from the previous year’s €3.4 million.