SADAFCO sets up $34m ice cream factory

RIYADH, Mar 20 (Arab News): Intending to increase its share in the Kingdom's ice cream market, Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Co., SADAFCO, has established an ice cream factory worth SR130 million ($34 million) in Jeddah.

With a 28 per cent market share, the company seeks to dominate the ice cream sector in the Kingdom and the new facility aims to raise its production capacity to achieve the goal. "Ice cream is a high margin profitable business for SADAFCO," Umar Farrukh, business head - frozen at SADAFCO told Arab News.

The company reported a decline in profit during the nine months ending Dec. 31, 2021, attributed to lower sales volumes due to the pandemic, an increase in the value-added tax from 5 to 15 per cent, and higher material and logistics costs. The ice cream business of the company, however, performed very well contributing to 17 per cent of the company's total annual turnover, Farrukh said at the inauguration ceremony of the Jeddah factory.

The official was upbeat about the company's ice cream business saying it will continue to "support the company in making profits."