Almarai, the Saudi Arabia-based food manufacturer, has appointed deputy CEO Majed Nofal to the position of chief executive.

Nofal has been at Almarai for 12 years. He was formerly the finance chief at Jeddah-based Western Bakeries before Almarai acquired the business.

When Nofal takes the reins on 1 January, he will succeed Georges Schorderet, who was re-appointed as CEO in July. Schorderet was installed to replace Alois Hofbauer, who resigned for personal reasons. Hofbauer was appointed in January to take over from Schorderet.

Nofal has been Almarai’s deputy CEO since July when the company moved him from the role of CFO, a position he had only held since April. Before being appointed CFO, Nofal had been general manager for new businesses since 2017. Between 2010 and 2017, Nofal was Almarai’s head of central procurement.

Based in Riyadh, Almarai manufactures food and beverage products spread across dairy, juices, bakery, poultry and infant nutrition for retail and foodservice channels in the Middle East and north Africa. It is part-owned by private-equity firm The Carlyle Group headquartered in the US.

In 2018, Almarai’s net revenue decreased 1.5% to reach SAR13.72bn (US$3.66bn). Operating profit dropped 4.7% to SAR2.46bn. Profit attributable to shareholders was down 7.9% at SAR2.01bn.

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In the first nine months of 2019, Almarai posted a 4.6% increase in revenue to SAR10.65bn amid growth from the company’s bakery and poultry businesses.

Operating profit stood at SAR1.97bn, down from 2.4% on a year earlier. Almarai said its consolidated profit attributable to shareholders was SAR1.5bn, a decrease of 8.6% on the first nine months of 2018. Selling and distribution expenses rose, while finance costs and impairment charges also grew.