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Zhivko Mukaetov

Chief Executive Officer / Management Board President of Alkaloid AD

2021 marked Alkaloid’s 85 jubilee. One that was completely different from all the others, in a year that still had the prefix pandemic but added also military and energy crisis adjuncts, which we thought cannot be our reality especially in the 21st century. The rising prices of energy and transport, the shortage of raw materials and packaging, the uncertainty of placements, and the unavailability of basic products will inevitably affect businesses in general.

In times of such uncertainties, I believe everyone’s wondering: How to move on? How long is this going to last? Probably, the world history will provide the future generations with the answers to these questions. Here and now, the only thing we know is that we must rely on our own resources, capabilities, and knowledge. We must remain on the tracks that me and my team have continuously traced in during the past 15 years, which have been marked with various crisis prefixes too. In times of crisis, especially one like this, companies surely save on marketing costs and cut investments. COVID, war, inflation, stagflation and energy uncertainty, seem to cause panic leading to radical decisions. Nothing is easy for both, companies or individuals. Hard times call for hard decisions, but behind every challenge lies an opportunity.

RESULTS

Despite all objective and subjective challenges during 2021, Alkaloid managed to generate positive financial results in its operations employing extraordinary efforts and precautions in its everyday operations. We achieved total consolidated sales of MKD 12.794.180.346, which represents a growth of 5% compared to 2020. Our consolidated net profit amounted to MKD 1.304.959.925, growing 12%. Sales amounting to 35% were effectuated in the domestic market, whereas 65% were export sales, out of which 32% were intended for the SEE markets, 19% for the Western European markets, 13% for Russia and CIS and 2% were for the remaining markets. We are especially proud to announce the first placements of our pharmaceutical products in Austria, Portugal and Cyprus as well as the first exports of products from our Becutan portfolio at the Saudi Arabia market.

88% of the total placements were effectuated by the pharmaceuticals segment, 8% in the Cosmetics, 2% in Botanicals and 2% belonged to the Chemicals segment.

STOCK EXCHANGE OPERATIONS

According to the records of the Macedonian Stock Exchange, the shares of Alkaloid in the course of 2021, were once again amongst the most traded and the most liquid ones. Alkaloid AD Skopje, as one of the leading companies on the Macedonian Stock Exchange, in the regular stock exchange operations participated with traded MKD 845.002.973, which is 15,35% of the total turnover recorded on the first official market of the Stock Exchange in 2021. The share price of Alkaloid AD Skopje ranged from MKD 13,300 to MKD 18,501, with an average of MKD 15,799.55, which represents a growth of 29.8% of the average price of the share compared to 2020.

In 2021, Alkaloid received the prestigious acknowledment from the Macedonian Stock Exchange for being the most transparently listed shareholding company in the course of the year. In its portfolio, Alkaloid added another acknowledgment ‘Stock of the year for 2021’ granted based on public poll from the general investment public, the Macedonian Stock Exchange and the portal Faktor.

INVESTMENTS

In line with the company policy for continuous investments, we remained firmly on the track during 2021, allocating MKD 1.186.124.984 in increasing and diversification of the production capacities, promotion of technological processes, expansion of the laboratory and warehousing facilities and several energy efficiency projects. In order to serve the dynamic requirements of the scientific disciplines we work, in line with the continuous investments in education, we commissioned our new Centre for Education and Trainings, which we plan to upgrade and expand in future. In service of the education of future healthcare professionals were the activities of our Foundation Trajche Mukaetov, which in the course of 2021 granted 40 new scholarships to students of medicine and pharmacy at the state university. We are pleased that we took part in the successful story of 579 scholarship holders in the past 15 years. Within this period, we invested over MKD 117 millions in Foundation scholarships and one-off premiums for the valedictorians.

PROSPECTS

Engaged and healthy youth was in full focus at Alkaloid in the course of 2021. We implemented the project ‘Benefits for the Children of Employees’ aimed at directing youngsters towards sports and other extracurricular activities. We founded of Alkaloid’s handball club, for the purposes of systematic work and modelling future athletes. Youth in focus was also at the marking of Alkaloid’s 85th jubilee, which started with a humanitarian video that spreads messages of gratitude, optimism and empathy. Through this project, we donated an amount of MKD 4.099.448 to the Pediatric Clinic in Skopje. The donation was officially handed at the Museum of the City of Skopje during the opening of the retrospective exhibition of Alkaloid’s past, our present and the most significant moments in the company’s history.

This exhibition was proof that Alkaloid passed numerous challenges in the past 85 years but demonstrated discipline, solidarity, high level of empathy and commitment by generations of employees. Human resources have always been at the center. Even nowadays, we aim to build a company of satisfied people, who invest their potential in joint success, because the company’s image, values, and credibility, are reflected by the organizational culture and people, above all.