(Ecofin Agency) - At the end of the first half of the year ended on June 30, 2017, Société des Industries Pharmaceutiques de Tunisie (SIPHAT) secured a total of 5.5 million Tunisian dinars ($2.03 million) of loans. The firm, it should be noted, is listed on the Bourse des Valeurs Mobilières de Tunis (BVMT).

In details, Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB) provided 3 million Tunisian dinars to SIPHAT while Union Bancaire pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (UBCI), subsidiary of the French group BNP Paribas, provided the company 2.5 million Tunisian dinars. 

SIPHAT actually goes through a crisis and recorded a net loss of 5 million dinars ($2.2 million) between January and June 2017. The firm which specializes in the production and sales of pharmaceutical products explained this poor performance by the purchase of various materials and equipment valued at 224,170 dinars, as well as by the rise of the dinar’s exchange rate paired with lower sales in Algeria and Libya.

Unfortunately, things did not get any better in Q3 2017. Earnings plummeted and the debt increased. Over the last month, the SIPHAT share recorded a modest plus-value of 0.14% from January 2017 on the BVMT. However, it slumped 5.23%, just in the last month, and cumulated a value decrease of close to 20.4% over the past three years. 

Chamberline Moko