Historic results of Mennica Skarbowa in 2021 – the company sold 4.53 tons of gold throughout the year, compared to 2.13 tons in 2020.
For the first time in its history, the company’s revenue exceeded PLN 1 billion and operating profit exceeded PLN 30 million.
The company still plans to go public on the main floor of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Mennica Skarbowa, a New Connect-listed company and Poland’s largest dealer of investment gold and other precious metals, closed the fourth quarter of 2021 with record sales growth. Sales revenues in the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to PLN 457.2 million, an increase of almost 150% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 (PLN 184.7 million). On a year-to-date basis, the company’s revenues amounted to more than PLN 1.1 billion, twice as much as in 2020 (PLN 529.7 million). According to the company’s management board, the high demand for gold in Poland will remain at a similar level, and the price of the raw material will increase as a result of political uncertainty in Europe and record high inflation.
Throughout 2021, Mennica Skarbowa sold 4.53 tons of gold, compared to 2.13 tons last year. In 2021, Poles were most likely to buy 1 gram and 100 gram gold bars, as well as ounce bullion coins in particular the Australian Maple Leaf and Krugerrand. Monthly, the company carried out several thousand sales transactions of products made of this raw material.
High sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the entire year were the result of several factors. Undoubtedly, the market situation can be considered favorable. Rising demand for gold, driven mainly by fears of escalating inflation, low interest rates and anxiety over the tense political situation in eastern Europe, is increasing investor interest in allocating capital to a stable and highly mobile investment such as precious metals. On the other hand, the company has been able to respond to the high demand for gold by significantly increasing its inventory of the raw material.
“This is the first time in history that we have exceeded PLN 1 billion, and the first time in history that we have also generated such a high profit, both at the operating and net level. The gold rush in Poland goes on because Poles have come to believe in this bullion. It’s a safe asset that maintains its purchasing value for years and is easy to sell later. We estimate that Poles bought about 14 tons of investment gold in 2021, and our country ranked among the top five in Europe in terms of sales of this raw material. We continue to see unrelenting demand for gold, and we need to steadily increase our inventory and expand our sales network. I also predict that if political uncertainty especially in Eastern Europe continues and inflation remains at such levels, the price of gold will rise in the medium term,” comments Jarosław Żołędowski, President of Mennica Skarbowa.
The company’s profit on sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to PLN 11.5 million, nearly three times as much as in the fourth quarter of 2020. Cumulatively in the first four quarters of 2021, profit on sales was equal to PLN 31.7 million, an increase of nearly PLN 11.7 million compared to the same period of 2020. Operating profit was on a similar level, at PLN 10.5 million, compared to PLN 4.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, and cumulatively in the four quarters of 2021 it amounted to PLN 30.7 million, compared to just under PLN 20 million in the same period last year.
Mennica Skarbowa net profit, in turn, was PLN 7.9 million, compared to PLN 3.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Cumulatively in the first four quarters of 2021, gross profit amounted to PLN 28.7 million compared to PLN 18.5 million in the same period of 2020, while net profit amounted to PLN 23.2 million compared to PLN 18.3 million in the four quarters of 2020.
The fourth quarter of 2021 was also crucial in terms of ERP system implementation. The implementation process has been completed, and starting January 1, 2022, the company is carrying out the roll-out of the new system and its integration into the company’s processes. This roll-out is essential for Mennica Skarbowa further business development and is now a priority for the management board and the entire team. The innovative ERP system makes it possible to significantly shorten processes and increase the efficiency of the company’s various departments, and, as a result, shorten the inventory turnover cycle, which contributes to a decrease in financial costs, improved liquidity and profitability, and accelerated deliveries to customers. The increase in efficiency also opens up opportunities for further development of the sales network, and consequently for increasing market share in the gold market. An additional advantage of the ERP solution is the automation of a part of the processes, which increases safety and reduces the costs of the so-called back office. The implementation of the system is also one of the milestones necessary to enable the company to go public on the WSE’s main market.