With such weak performance, it is no wonder that the Kibbutz Yizre'el company is looking for a lifeline

Against the backdrop of talks for the sale of control to the FIMI fund, the manufacturer of pool cleaning robots, Maytronics, continues to present weak results. After another quarter in which it presented a decrease in revenue and a transition to a net loss, the company announced an additional efficiency plan that will help it meet its obligations.

The company's revenue, which is controlled by Kibbutz Yizre'el (56%), stood during the second quarter at about 437.5 million shekels, a decrease of about 15% compared to the corresponding quarter last year. In the summary of the half-year, the company presented revenue of about 747 million shekels, a decrease of about 13% compared to the corresponding period last year.

The company explains the decrease mainly by the weakness of the activity of cleaners for private pools, which continued to suffer from the strengthening of the shekel against the dollar, alongside a decrease in sales in the European market, as a result of partial supply of demand for its products due to what it defines as "internal operational challenges" and also the increase in competition.

Bottom line, Maytronics recorded a transition to a net loss of about 8 million shekels, compared to a profit of about 14.6 million shekels in the corresponding quarter last year. Also in the summary of the half-year, the company from Kibbutz Yizre'el recorded a transition to a loss of about 34.5 million shekels. This is among other things due to the influence of tariffs in the American market, and also from the mix of sales channels and territories in which it sold its products.

Even looking forward, it seems that the situation of Maytronics is far from encouraging. As of the end of the quarter, the company's order backlog stood at about 98.5 million shekels, a decrease of about 3.4% compared to the corresponding period last year. However, neutralizing currency effects, the order backlog reflects an increase of about 9.5% compared to last year.

Based on the backlog, the company estimates that they will finish the third quarter of the year with revenue in the range between 260-290 million shekels. A figure reflecting a decrease of about 19% compared to the revenue it recorded in the third quarter last year.

A decrease of 40% in the last year

The company notes that following the situation, its management formulated and approved in the board of directors plans to adjust the expense structure, improve working capital and strengthen liquidity. This is through additional efficiency plans, which it has already begun implementing. Although the company does not specify what the new efficiency plan includes, it estimates that it will allow it to continue to meet its obligations.

In any case, the disappointing results and the efficiency plan come just two weeks after the company updated investors on "preliminary contacts" it is conducting with the FIMI fund for investment in it, in what is expected to end the era in which the company was controlled by Kibbutz Yizre'el, at the peak of which the company was traded at a value of about 9 billion shekels, which reflected for each of the 300 members in the kibbutz holdings worth 17 million shekels.

However, since then the company's stock has known mainly sharp price declines, against the backdrop of the continued weakness in its business. Today, after a decrease of about 40% in the last year, and a plunge of over 96% in the last five years, Maytronics stock is traded at a value of only about 280 million shekels. Reflecting for each of the members in the kibbutz holdings worth about 500 thousand shekels.