Mizzi Organisation Limited has agreed to sell its Arkadia Foodstore supermarkets business to an undisclosed buyer.
The sale was announced by subsidiary company Mizzi Organisation Finance p.l.c. in a company update to the market issued on Tuesday.
The agreed price of the sale was not disclosed.
The statement said the sale was in line with the parent company’s “strategic objective of focusing on its core business operations and consolidating its resources on selected business segments”, aimed at enhancing its long-term value.
It noted that Mizzi Organisation Ltd was one of the guarantors of €45 million 3.65% unsecured bonds maturing between 2028 and 2031.
There are five Arkadia foodstores in Malta and Gozo, including an express outlet in Msida.
In a financial analysis of the Mizzi Organisation Finance p.l.c last month, stockbroker Rizzo Farrugia noted that Arkadia revenues were “expected to experience a slowdown” this year compared to last year.
It said that management would maintain a “proactive approach”, supported by ongoing marketing strategies, to minimise the impacts of the revenue slowdown, however.
Meanwhile, the second quarter of last year saw Arkadia Marketing Limited – one of a handful of Arkadia companies held by Mizzi Organisation, alongside the supermarket business, Mizzi Brothers Limited and Arkadia Retail Limited – agree to transfer its concession for operating Is-Suq tal-Belt in Valletta to a third party.
The analysis noted that while footfall and revenue at the Valletta eatery complex had improved due to tourist arrivals, “overall profitability suffered significantly from unrecoverable centralised costs, resulting in a €1.6 million loss from discontinued operations” last year.
Mizzi Organisation Ltd expects to gain €5 million from the sale of the concession, which is being transferred decades ahead of its expiry.
The transfer “aligns with Mizzi Organisation’s strategy to divest non-core operations”, the analysis notes.
