Greek food manufacturer E.I. Papadopoulos SA saw sales exceed €250 million in 2025, although higher costs weighed on profitability, as the company presses ahead with a €59.6m investment at its Volos plant, where Caprice wafers are produced.

According to the company’s 2025 financial statements filed with Greece’s General Commercial Registry, turnover rose by 3.7 per cent to €252.52m, from €243.44m in 2024.

However, the increase in sales was accompanied by weaker earnings. Pre-tax profit fell 12.95 per cent to €8.68m, while net profit dropped 17.36 per cent to €6.94m.

Cost pressures were evident across the business. Cost of sales increased to €147.51m, from about €139.93m a year earlier, while gross profit rose more modestly to €105.01m.

As a result, the gross margin narrowed to 41.6 per cent from 42.5 per cent, while operating profit fell to €9.21m from €10.65m.

Payroll costs also increased sharply, rising by 12.5 per cent to €53.29m, as the workforce expanded to 1,796 employees at the end of 2025, compared with 1,672 a year earlier.

At the same time, the company continued to face pressure from raw materials and other operating costs.

Flour and grain prices moved slightly lower during the year and sugar prices continued to ease. Cocoa and cocoa derivatives, however, remained at high levels, reflecting constrained production in major producing countries.

Packaging materials, energy, storage and transport also remained costly.

Sales continued to increase across a broader product portfolio.

Of total turnover, €233.88m came from products manufactured by the company, up from €227.41m in 2024. Merchandise sales rose to €17.42m from €15.02m, while a further €1.22m came from raw materials, materials and by-products.

Papadopoulos said it retained its leading position in biscuits, while cereal bars also performed positively. Sales of rusks, breadsticks and Krispies strengthened, while the company expanded its packaged bread range with the launch of TOST Psicha.

The company also has an established presence in Cyprus, where Vassos Eliades Ltd imports and distributes Papadopoulou biscuits across the local market.

The Cypriot group says the products are available through hypermarkets, supermarkets, grocery stores and kiosks across the island, giving brands such as Caprice, Digestive and Petit Beurre a longstanding presence in the domestic retail market.

Papadopoulou products are also widely available through Cypriot retailers, including Alphamega, while the brand is also sold through Cyprus Duty Free at the island’s airports.

Meanwhile, the higher level of activity was reflected in working capital.

Inventories rose 21.7 per cent to €22.86m at the end of 2025, from €18.78m a year earlier, including €9.58m of finished and semi-finished goods and €11.93m of raw materials and consumables.

The rise in inventories reduced operating cash flow by €4.08m, contributing to a fall in net cash generated from operating activities to €7.46m from €19.67m.

Cash and cash equivalents subsequently fell to €5.66m, compared with €13.75m at the end of 2024.

During the year, the company spent €8.63m on tangible and intangible assets and paid €4.76m in dividends.

For the 2025 financial year, the board has proposed a further €3.43m dividend, subject to shareholder approval.

Bank borrowing stood at €23.3m at year-end, broadly unchanged from €23.8m in 2024. However, the fall in cash pushed net bank debt to around €17.64m, from €10.05m.

Equity rose to €151.68m from €147.47m.

The figures come as Papadopoulos prepares a considerably larger investment at its Volos production site.

The company is investing €59.6m to modernise the plant and increase production capacity, with the programme covering new equipment and greater automation through artificial intelligence and robotics.

The project also provides for additional staff and forms part of the company’s plans to expand exports. Details of the project have also been outlined by Naftemporiki.

Capital expenditure was already gathering pace in 2025, with additions to tangible fixed assets reaching €8.39m, including €4.39m in machinery and equipment.

Assets under construction increased to €4.22m at the end of the year from €1.62m in 2024.

Investment is also continuing at the company’s Thessaloniki plant, where new equipment is being installed at its facility in the municipality of Delta.

Separately, investment projects with a combined budget of €46.27m had been completed by the end of 2025 under Greece’s development law 4399/2016.

Those projects are eligible for €11m in support through tax-exempt reserves, of which €4.5m had been used by the end of December 2025.

Papadopoulos said its wider investment programme would continue to focus on production equipment, infrastructure, new products, digital transformation and staff training in new technologies.

The company operates four factories, in Tavros, Thessaloniki, Volos and Oinofyta, as well as three distribution and storage centres in Aspropyrgos, Thessaloniki and Volos.

Looking into 2026, the company said cost conditions remained challenging, pointing to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and their impact on energy markets and supply chains.

It reported higher natural gas and electricity prices, as well as increases in some packaging materials, while higher fuel prices had also raised transport and warehousing costs.

The company said it would continue its commercial and pricing policy in an effort to limit the impact of those increases.

Meanwhile, Papadopoulos has also completed a significant restructuring of its property holdings.

The company absorbed I.K.E. Akinita SA, bringing three adjoining properties in Tavros into the operating business with an estimated combined value of €28.55m.

The properties, which Papadopoulos was already using while paying annual rent of €1.27m, include the site housing its main production activity on Petrou Ralli Street.

The merger also eliminated two bond loans totalling €7.7m for which Papadopoulos itself was the sole bondholder.

The net value transferred through the transaction was assessed at €20.88m, while the merger was accompanied by a €4.72m increase in share capital to €15.22m.