The Tunisian Sugar Company (STS) reported a net profit of 622 thousand dinars in 2018, against a net loss of 517 thousand dinars in 2017.
This is what emerged from its financial statements closed on December 31, 2018 which were just published, with three years of delay and as they will be submitted for approval by the Ordinary General Assembly to be held on May 10, 2022.
The producer of white sugar and molasses has achieved in 2018 a turnover of 21.6 million dinars, against 19 million a year earlier. As for operating expenses, they reached 25 million dinars, against 21.8 million in 2017.
Consequently, the operating result is a deficit of 3.3 million dinars, against a negative result of 2.8 million in 2017.
STS purchases are made in suspension of VAT in accordance with the Finance Act for 2017 which provided for the submission of white sugar to VAT at a rate of 6% and the common note No. 4 which allowed companies refining raw sugar recovery of VAT on their purchases of goods and services, in a bit to alleviate their financial situation.
The company realized ordinary profits coming, essentially, from the reimbursement of insurance claims for an amount of 5.9 million dinars. Subtracting the net financial charges of nearly 2 million dinars, the company ends the year with a net profit of 622 thousand dinars.
The company had suffered in 2017 a fire that induced considerable damage to buildings and equipment.
The company did not perform a physical inventory of its fixed assets as of December 31, 2018. This situation did not allow the auditors to ensure, by other procedures, the existence of fixed assets, totaling a gross value of 82.6 million dinars and a net value of 8.3 million.
In addition, the company has accumulated losses after the result of 2018 of about 42.5 million dinars, thus generating a negative net accounting position of 17.5 million dinars and equity below half of the share capital.
