Maharah to boost market share; seeks to restructure 2022 acquisitions: CEO

Abdulaziz Edah Alkathiry, CEO of Maharah

Maharah Human Resources Co.'s Q1 2023 financials were largely buoyed by the strategic contracts sealed in the corporate sector last year, CNBC Arabia reported, citing CEO Abdulaziz Alkathiry.

It continues to increase its market share, he added, noting that Maharah efficiently started 2023 in line with economic variables and growth. It reported growth in overall revenue compared to the same period last year.

Maharah leads the human resources sector by size of workforce in the corporate sector, as its market share exceeded 17%, Alkathiry added.

The CEO also indicated that Maharah intends to attract new skilled domestic labor this year after the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development signed new agreements with many countries.

He added that the company started an accelerated plan to increase the volume of its business and diversify services to cope with the price ceiling imposed on recruitment services.

Maharah seeks to focus on electronic channels and digital transformation and reduce traditional channels, which will have a gradual positive impact starting from the second half of 2023 and beyond.

In addition, the company is working on restructuring the healtcare companies that it previously acquired, in addition to other projects in the homecare sector, especially in line with Vision 2030 projects.

It also has a plan to grow its homecare services over the next three years, according to Alkathiry.

He pointed out that it is too early to talk about any upcoming acquisitions, indicating that the company has a strategy for the next five years and is in its final stages of being approved by the board of directors. This strategy is partly related to inorganic growth and acquisitions, which will be detailed later.

Maharah's strategy for the current and next years is to restructure and organize the acquisitions that took place during 2022, Alkathiry said.

He added that financing costs have an impact on the company, especially with the rise in interest rates, but there is nothing to fear given the company's strong solvency.

He also stated that the company has long-term loans of over SAR 500 million, noting that repayment will start from next year.

Maharah posted a 47% rise in net profit for Q1 2023 to SAR 36.5 million, compared to SAR 24.8 million profit in the same period a year ago.