Profiles - March 11, 2022

Here is How Moroccan Entrepreneur Lamia Tazi Made Over $217m Profit

March 11, 2022

3 min read

Since her inception as the chairman and CEO, Sothema has manufactured more than 60 million medicines each year.

Sothema, a Morocco-based pharmaceutical company, experienced a double-digit revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 owing to Morocco’s ongoing economic recovery. The company, chaired by Lamia Tazi, is controlled by the Tazi and Berrada families.

According to the company’s 2021 fourth-quarter report, the income increased by 13.7% from $189.6 million (MAD1.81 billion) in 2020 to more than $217 million (MAD2.06 billion).

This was due to the strong development across its key operating areas. Also, the increase is ascribed to strong commercial performance on both domestic and international markets and a gradual return to regular pharmaceutical activities.

Apart from the benefits of its external growth plan, the company benefitted from the launch of four new high-value-added products in 2021, which helped drive up sales and revenue.

Over the period, Sothema’s net debt fell by 48%, from $24.4 million (MAD232 million) to $12.7 million (MAD121 million). This was due to the ability of the pharmaceutical company to generate cash flow from operations in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.

During the year, it dedicated $4.32 million (MAD41 million) to purchase facilities, tools, and pharmaceutical product licenses to ensure long-term revenue and operational growth.

The pharmaceutical firm’s shares are currently trading at MAD1,580 ($165.56) as of today, giving the Lamia Tazi led company a Casablanca bourse valuation of MAD11.376 billion ($1.192 billion).

The Chairman and CEO – Lamia Tazi

Lamia Tazi has a 3.93% stack of the Marocaine Ste de Therapeutique (Sothema). Since her inception as the company’s Chairman and CEO, Sothema has manufactured more than 60 million medicines each year.

It oversees 35 worldwide laboratories that produce and sell commodities across Europe, the Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Persian Gulf.

According to the management, “The performance reflects our ability to navigate the muddy waters of the pharmaceutical industry while maintaining operational aggregates in terms of sales volume and profitability at customary and satisfactory levels.”.