May the 4th, 2023 - The Osijek company Saponia's revenues have exceeded a very impressive 27 million euros, and the company's most significant investment yet is now entering into its final phase.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Mladen Miletic writes, the beginning of the year brought an almost 10 percent increase in revenue to the Osijek company Saponia, which exceeded 27 million euros (27.1) in the first quarter of 2023.

In the financial report published last week for the first three months of this year, the company notes that a strong increase in profitability of 35 percent was created with the achievement of EBIT of 1.2 million euros, as well as a proportional increase in EBT of 32 percent, with the achievement of profit before tax in the amount of 1.2 million euros.

Revenues from sales on the domestic market grew significantly, which, in relation to the same period last year was 18 percent higher and amounted to 15.3 million euros. On foreign markets, which are responsible for 43% of total revenues, that realisation amounted to 11.4 million euros.

Balanced growth

"Despite the increased absorption of input costs, the Osijek Saponia company's operations are continuing to head in the planned direction. Significant growth in terms of business income was achieved in a very difficult cost and operational environment.

The financial progress of business income consequently preserves and improves other key business indicators, and as such the ratio of net debt to EBITDA was maintained at 1.8, and the level of net working capital recorded an increase of 57 percent and amounted to 39.5 million euros. The value created in the first quarter of 2023 confirms that the balanced growth of Saponia has been created," the quarterly financial report states.

However, it has been noted that the business is still primarily characterised by cost pressure through the growth of prices of raw materials and packaging, energy costs and further increases in the gross salary of employees.

"As such, the costs of production materials are 23 percent higher, and the costs of energy and fuel are 55 percent higher compared to the first quarter of last year. The work of our employees was supported by an increase in payments for labour costs of 16 percent, which had an aliquot effect on the increase in the average gross salary for 1,071 employees," they stated.

Energy restoration

In a period in which the importance of energy sustainability and savings is becoming more and more clear, the Osijek Saponia company is beginning to "harvest" the benefits of intensive investments in increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources, about which the company said the following:

"Certainly the most important project for the development of the Osijek Saponia company as a modern and environmentally conscious enterprise is energy renovation, which is entering the final phase, and even at first glance you can see the change on the facades of all four buildings, and we expect the end result, i.e. savings, by the end of the year. The workers in the production plants are already seeing the announced positive changes in working conditions, and our goal is to continue this process and a number of new projects have been prepared and are ready for implementation,'' the statement read.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

December the 28th, 2021 - The Croatian company Saponia, which is headquartered in the Eastern Croatian city of Osijek is on its way down a new digital path, aided by no less than the Vodnjan-based giant Infobip.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, Osijek's Saponia will additionally focus its business on digitalisation and ongoing digital transformation, through a programmable communication platform that it will "build" in cooperation with the impressive Infobip, the first Croatian unicorn, as was reported on the official website of the Zagreb Stock Exchange where a letter of intent was also published.

Their collaboration includes multi-channel communication access to consumers on Viber, WhatsApp, Email, SMS and social media platforms. Thus, as they claim from the Croatian company Saponia, they want to improve the quality of their communication infrastructure with their consumers and customers, with whom they will communicate about key information and answer questions more quickly and efficiently through the aforementioned channels.

According to the Croatian company Saponia, Infobip was the ideal partner in the implementation of the communication cloud platform, given that they are among the leaders in the world in multichannel communication.

“Saponia's decision to cooperate with Infobip as a leading IT company came about due to the fact that the growth and development of our company is influenced by the speed and quality of information transfer to consumers. We believe that Infobip can be our long-term partner that will ensure the fast and personalised transfer of information through popular channels. Through their communication platform, we'll be able to place greater emphasis on sustainable solutions in hygiene and cleanliness of the home, educating consumers on how to properly use our funds for maximum performance and ensure a minimal impact on the environment,'' said Saponia's marketing director Tihana Kostenko.

This is an important move for a company that has been operating for 130 years in the production and sale of detergents and toiletries in Osijek, and the first step in the process of cooperation between Saponia and Infobip was made at a meeting of representatives of both companies, where they jointly defined the goals of their new communication strategy, after which several initial workshops were held.

“Adaptation to consumers is the foundation of Saponia's business philosophy. With a quality product, our intention is to provide our customers with all of the relevant information, answer all of their questions immediately and provide proper solutions We're absolutely sure that Infobip, as a global leader in multichannel communication, can enable us to provide our consumers with unique moments of connecting with well-known brands,'' said the President of the Management Board of Saponia, Diana Mrcela.

There were no additional comments from Infobip on this collaboration, and the process of implementing programmable communication is related to new projects that Saponia plans to implement next year.

"It's important for both Saponia and Infobip to create quality content that will attract new generations of consumers by providing them with all the necessary information in the shortest possible time," concluded Tihana Kostenko.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

January the 31st, 2021 - The Osijek company Saponia has begun with the construction of a brand new logistics and distribution centre in Zagreb, aimed at improving business operations in many ways.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, in early 2021, the Osijek company Saponia will begin building a brand new, modernly equipped logistics and distribution centre that will provide adequate logistical support to the long-term development of its sales and distribution business. Quality infrastructure is a prerequisite for increasing business efficiency for this well known enterprise, and in order to achieve this, two investment projects have been launched - the modernisation of the existing Saponia warehouse and the construction of a completely new logistics and distribution centre in the eastern industrial zone of Zagreb.

The first part of the project - the reconstruction of the existing storage space - has now been completed, and over recent days a building permit for the construction of a new LDC has been obtained. With its completion in April this year, the Osijek company Saponia will have 4,500 pallet spaces available for high-rack warehousing and modern storage mechanisation, which will enable the faster flow of goods, the increased punctuality of deliveries and overall reduced operating costs.

"When designing the Zagreb logistics and distribution centre, care was taken to meet the highest performance standards, and part of the concept is the energy efficiency of the building, which will contribute to solar panels and energy-saving lighting. The investment in the reconstruction, construction and equipping of the LDC worth 8.74 million kuna will be able to meet all of the specific storage requirements of both the production programme of Saponia and the products Kandita and Koestlin, the sale and distribution of which have been contracted since this year,'' said dr.sc . Dajana Mrcela, President of the Management Board of Saponia.

Namely, out of 4,124 m2 of the total space of the new LDC, almost a quarter will be conditioned space that ensures the maximum preservation of the quality of Kandit's and Koestlin's products. In the new space, in addition to the warehouse, new office premises of the sales and logistics department will be located, which will enable the more efficient organisation of business processes. Almost 40,000 unloadings will be performed annually from the Zagreb logistics centre at the points of sale of their partners. Therefore, the vehicle fleet has been expanded to include refrigerators due to the specific transport requirements of Kandit's and Koestlin's products, and the Osijek company Saponia can now boast of having 108 trucks at its disposal.

"With this business move, Saponia, together with Kandit and Koestlin, has confirmed its commitment to raising the level of quality of its business and improving its services to its partners. This partnership is a logical continuation of the efforts of these companies aimed at sustainable development and ensuring better operability and profitability,'' added dr.sc. Diana Mrcela.

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WIth 120 years to look back on, the detergent producer is proud of its heritage but also wary of relaxing on the slippery market