Energy drink producer Hell will be constructing a sugar silo in Szikszó at Hell Energy Hungary Limited’s plant in the Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County town. The government is providing 282 million forints (EUR 789 thousand) in state funding towards the 565-million-forint (EUR 1.58 million) investment project. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó officially presented the related funding certificate to the company’s Managing Director Barnabás Csereklye on Monday.
At the event, the Minister said: “At the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, we had to concentrate on protecting people’s health, then later on economy protection and preserving workplaces to assure Hungary’s functioning”. “We must assure that the economy does not have to be shut down even partially, and the Hungarian economy is successful thanks to the work of the Hungarian people”, he declared.
Mr. Szijjártó spoke about the fact that the government has entered into an alliance with enterprises, as a result of which it is financing work and job creation, and enterprises that invest now could also acquire a long-term competitive advantage on international markets. “The Hell Group, whose products can already be found in fifty countries on five continents, is market leader in six countries, and whose turnover is to a major extent derived from exports, thanks to which it is contributing to enabling the Hungarian economy to return to its previous, long-term growth trajectory, is one of the country’s largest exporters”, the Minister added, declaring: “The Hell Group is exponentially improving the country’s economic performance”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade also told the press that Hell’s latest investment is directly facilitating the preservation of 355 workplaces, and will enable the company to operate more efficiently. “Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County is in fourth place with relation to attracting capital investment, and thirty-nine enterprises from the County have undertaken to realised a total of twenty million forints (EUR 25 million) in investment within the framework of the Competitiveness-Improving Program, towards which the government is providing 9 billion forints (EUR 56 million) in state funding, which is helping to save 11,500 workplaces”, he explained.
After being officially presented with the company’s funding certificate, Managing Director Barnabás Csereklye emphasised that last week the company officially inaugurated its new Energy Coffee plant, which was realised as a greenfield investment at a total cost of 8 billion forints (EUR 22.5 million), towards which the state contributed 4 billion forints (EUR 11.2 million) in funding. The company’s latest investment will enable a major step towards one of its other important goals, environmentally friendly production, which is also one of the fundamental pillars of the Group’s long-term strategy, he stated.
At the inauguration ceremony, Zsófia Koncz, daughter of the region’s former Member of Parliament Ferenc Koncz who died in June, and who is running in the by-elections as a candidate for the Fidesz-KDNP coalition, said the Hell Group is realising unique development projects in the region, creating excellent working conditions, enabling employees to work with a high level of technology, and providing work to many young people.
Last year, Hell Energy Hungary Ltd. realised over 50 billion forints (EUR 140 million) in turnover, with after-tax profits of 2.55 billion (EUR 7.13 million). In the previous year, in 2018, the company posted 5.34 billion forints (EUR 14.9 million) in after-tax profits, from almost 48 billion forints (EUR 134.2 million) in turnover. In 2019, the company group generated 25.19 billion forints (EUR 70.5 million) in turnover from domestic sales and 26.21 billion forints (EUR 73.3 million) from exports.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
