Fox Marble adds new revenue stream in processing third party blocks

Kosovo and Balkans-focussed marble quarrying and finishing company Fox Marble has signed its first contract for the processing of third party blocks, it announced on Thursday, which represents an additional revenue stream for the company.

The AIM-traded firm said it now has three principal sources of revenue from three separate activities - those of block sales from its Prilep quarry in North Macedonia; the sale of processed material from blocks of its own material quarried in Kosovo and Macedonia, and block processing for third parties.

Under the new third-party agreement, Fox said it would process stone on behalf of Inter Stone at its factory at Lipjan in Kosovo.

The contract would be for 12 months, with the board saying it expected that the company would continue to process blocks of material each month.

It said the blocks due to be processed within the first monthly batch of material had been delivered to the factory site, and production had begun.

The first order under the contract - expected to be fulfilled in December - would generate around €0.1m in revenues for the company.

Fox said the level of production would be up to a maximum of 1,000 tons per month, depending on the capacity that Fox Marble required for the production of its own material.

The arrangement would allow the firm to expand capacity at the factory, the directors said, driving performance improvements and maximising operating efficiencies.

That optimisation performance and efficiency would come in part from the adoption of a new flexible multi-shift system, the company confirmed, adding that it was part of an overall factory improvement programme achieved since the recent appointments of Francisco Espinosa as chief operating officer and head of sales, and Secundino Costas da Villa as technical factory manager, who the board said were bringing a “wealth” of natural stone experience with them.

Working capital was still being carefully managed, the directors said, as they implemented their plans for growth.

“This new revenue stream will allow Fox Marble to utilise more of its factory capacity and increase operating efficiency, whilst still processing its own marble for sale globally as well as in the wider Balkan market,” said chief executive officer Chris Gilbert.

“We look forward to our ongoing partnership with Inter Stone.

“I look forward to updating the market in the New Year on our strategy and future growth plans.”