How Iktinos made the crisis an opportunity

By Eleni Botas

Iktinos has turned its attention to new markets, beyond China such as India, Egypt, Tunisia, the USA and the Arabian Gulf.

According to Ioulia Haida, deputy managing director of the group and the information she gave during the presentation of the quarry in Volakas, Drama, in the Chinese market, the problems from the pandemic continue, as it was directed to 60% of its exports to be gradually reduced to 30%.

This is the reason why in the first quarter of 2022 sales were reduced to 6.56 million euros from 8.5 million euros and EBITDA to 1.16 million euros from 2.8 million euros at parent company level.

However, the company has sought to offset declining sales in China by opening up other markets, an effort that has begun to pay off as demand began to pick up in May and June.

According to Ms. Haida, the fact that in the last two months there is a recovery of demand from China is a hopeful message. At the same time, although the company’s production is exported by 97% to foreign countries, it nevertheless sees a recovery in the Greek market, as projects are underway, mainly tourism projects.

The company is running three investment projects, including 8.2 million euros in the Volakas quarry, in which the investment has started with the order of mechanical equipment amounting to 800 thousand euros.

By the end of next month, he is expected to receive a permit to expand the quarry by 100 acres in order to continue underground mining.

The marble mining in Volakas in 2021 reached 380,000 tons, of which 105,000 were remarkable marketable marbles, stressed the project manager in Volakas, Defkalion Papadopoulos, emphasizing that the remaining quantities, which were related to low-grade marble, .

Also, by the end of the year, Iktinos is expected to receive a permit for the expansion of 200 acres in the quarry of Nestos.

12% increases in prices

Iktinos increased the prices of its products by up to 12% in order to cover the large increase in energy costs.

According to Ms. Haida, these increases cover, with the data to date, the increased costs of production and distribution of products.

However, he noted that in recent years and due to the pandemic, the situation has worsened, both in terms of energy costs and transport, while there are problems in the supply chain.

Finally, another problem is that of the long process of licensing new quarries, with the average time of obtaining an exploitation license reaching 5 years, while the fact that there is no clear framework for land use creates significant obstacles.