The Borges agri-food group, owned by the Pont family, is preparing a new stage of growth with which it aspires to increase sales by 42% in five years, going from 701 million in turnover in the 2021-2022 financial year to more than a billion euros, as well as doubling results (27.5 million profit last year). That is why it has drawn up an investment and purchase plan that would allow it to increase production capacity and save costs through improvements in energy efficiency and water consumption, said David Prats, executive president and CEO of the company yesterday.

Thus, they plan to allocate 108 million in the next three years to industrial assets (60% of the total investment), with more plant capacity, installation of photovoltaic infrastructure, circular economy and technologies that optimize irrigation systems to reduce the consumption of a resource as scarce today as water. The remaining 40% will be invested in marketing and campaigns to strengthen the brand image and sales in its more than one hundred markets – 65% of income comes from abroad.

The Tàrrega-based multinational is also studying various purchase options “as long as they make sense”, emphasizes Prats, in Spain, France, Italy and Germany, and wants to expand its cultivated hectares on property (it now has around 2,000), as well how to exceed 100,000 tons of products with its own brand (trades seed oils, olive oil, nuts, vinegars, olives, pastas, sauces, pickles and flours and by-products). An expansion that they will finance with their own resources and the support of financial institutions, although they are not closing the door to other formulas. In 2017, it took its nuts subsidiary (Bain) public and carried out a capital increase. “We have an open mind”, said the CEO. The group faces this stage with a solid financial situation, emphasized Prats. It has reduced its debt from 85 million euros to 74 million, while sales in the last year grew by 25% and profits by 8%, due to both price increases and sales volume . For the current financial year, which ends in May, Borges expects more moderate growth mainly due to the significant increase in costs. “We have only transferred 50% of the increase to the final price”, they assured.

It is also preparing its leap into Africa, where it already exports but is not fully established. The group sees great potential in the continent and has the experience of India, which is already among its main markets.