Citadele Bank and organic food company Auga Group have signed EUR 15.5 million loan deal to refinance existing financial obligations and to finance environmentally friendly business model development.
“In the AUGA Group's business strategy we have outlined truly significant projects that will not only significantly increase the efficiency and sustainability of business, it will also create new opportunities for the entire sector. We are pleased that Citadele Bank positively assessed our results and goals and offered us financial instruments tailored specifically for our sector” says Kęstutis Jusčius, General Director of AUGA Group.
“The AUGA Group is an example of how innovative approach and new technologies applied to the traditional sector can create higher value for the business and its clients. Global organic food market demonstrates dynamic growth every year, therefore businesses who want to establish themselves need not only to look for the new markets, but also to invest in business efficiency and sustainability. Auga Group has already created a niche for its products in the international market and is successfully expanding in a very important US market. We appreciate that we have become the company's largest financial partner and will help AUGA Group to develop business and also to strengthen the local economy,” comments Vaidas Žagūnis, Member of the Management Board of Citadele Bank, Head of Corporate banking in the Baltics.
AUGA Group is the largest vertically integrated organic food company in Europe, and is listed on the Nasdaq Vilnius and Warsaw stock exchanges. It manages approx. 39,000 ha of organically certified arable land and develops a sustainable farming model, based on new technologies. The company produces a wide range of organic food products for the end consumer as well as organic commodities. In its strategy for 2020-2025 the AUGA Group aims to improve business efficiency, create a new model of sustainable organic food production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the AUGA Group has improved its results in all operating segments in the first half of this year – the group's sales revenue was 20% higher than for the same period in 2019 and amounted to EUR 34.69 million. This year the company also entered the Australian market and strengthened its position in North America, the world’s largest organic food market. Organic AUGA Group products will be sold at Stop & Shop in the USA and Metro in Canada. AUGA Group products grown and manufactured in Lithuania are exported to more than 30 countries around the world.
Citadele Bank actively finances the development of businesses operating in the Baltic region. One of the recent financing agreements signed by Citadele Bank – 38 mln. EUR financing provided to Aido Turtas, a company managed by Akropolis Group.