Moldova’s largest company in the oil and fat industry ended 2025 with a net loss of 162.6 million lei. A year earlier, Floarea Soarelui had posted a profit of 90.5 million lei. In just one year, the company’s financial performance deteriorated by more than 253 million lei.
At the same time, sales did not decline. The company’s revenue grew by 11.3%—from 1.34 billion to 1.5 billion lei. The plant exported 90% of its sunflower oil production and its entire rapeseed oil output, and also signed contracts to supply packaged products to Romania and France.
The main problem turned out to be not a lack of buyers, but the economics of processing. The cost of goods sold increased by 13.1%—to 1.43 billion lei—which was a faster rate of growth than revenue. As a result, gross profit amounted to approximately 64 million lei, and the gross profit margin fell from 5.8% to 4.28%.
The company explicitly notes in its annual report the risk of low or negative processing margins: the purchase cost of raw materials and processing expenses did not always correspond to the prices at which the company could sell its finished products.
In other words, Floarea Soarelui continued to produce and export oil, but the margin generated was insufficient to cover all expenses.
Distribution and administrative expenses alone reached nearly 144 million lei—more than double the gross profit. Sales expenses rose from 62.4 million to 78.5 million lei, while administrative expenses increased from 62.9 million to 65.2 million lei.
As a result, the company’s operating loss reached 135.3 million lei. The financial result added further pressure: instead of a profit of 174.3 million lei a year earlier, the company posted a financial loss of 26.8 million lei.
This explains the sharp shift from a profit to a net loss. The problem did not arise from a halt in production or the loss of export markets, but rather from a combination of low margins on core operations and a deterioration in financial performance.
In 2025, Floarea Soarelui processed 58,600 metric tons of sunflower seeds and produced 26,000 metric tons of sunflower oil. In addition, the plant processed 39,000 metric tons of rapeseed, yielding 17,500 metric tons of rapeseed oil.
The company also produced 22,500 metric tons of sunflower meal and 20,800 metric tons of rapeseed meal. Approximately 17,300 metric tons of products were bottled in PET bottles.
Thus, production capacity was fully utilized, and the products found buyers. However, the high export share alone did not ensure a profit: the company sold a lot, but did not earn enough per metric ton of raw material processed.
Another important indicator is the sharp increase in current assets. Their value rose from 2 billion to 2.8 billion lei. The company’s total assets grew from 2.86 billion to 3.67 billion lei, or by approximately 28.4%. The previously mentioned growth rate of 287.3% does not correspond to the absolute figures and is clearly an error.
The bulk of current assets consisted of inventory—about 1.78 billion lei—as well as current accounts receivable and other current assets—about 886.7 million lei. At the same time, receivables from related parties amounted to approximately 595.5 million lei.
Another 136.8 million lei consisted of current financial investments in related parties. Cash on hand at the end of the reporting period was insignificant—about 231,000 lei.
These figures do not prove the existence of violations or a lack of funding, but they do show where a significant portion of the company’s resources was concentrated: in raw materials, finished goods, accounts receivable, and transactions with related companies, rather than in available cash.
This is particularly important given that Floarea Soarelui is part of the Trans-Oil Group. At the annual shareholders’ meeting, the company’s shareholders approved a number of major transactions to finance the group. The detailed terms of these transactions are not disclosed in the information published by InfoMarket.
The very fact of intra-group transactions is standard practice for large holding companies. However, against the backdrop of a loss of 162.6 million lei, their specific parameters take on particular significance: the amount of financing, interest rates, terms, collateral, and the distribution of economic benefits among group members.
Floarea Soarelui has 1,449 shareholders. The Cypriot companies Amableus Limited and Trezeme Limited, whose ultimate beneficiary is entrepreneur Vaja Jashi, together control approximately 84.7% of the company’s shares. Therefore, transparency in related-party transactions is important not only for assessing the plant’s financial position but also for protecting the interests of minority shareholders.
Despite the loss, Floarea Soarelui continues to modernize its production facilities. In July 2025, the company completed the installation of rapeseed processing equipment with a capacity of 1,000 metric tons of seeds per day. The equipment allows for the daily production of up to 450 metric tons of oil and 530 metric tons of meal.
The company plans to build a fully automated vegetable oil refining plant with a capacity of 350 metric tons per day. The project is expected to increase the output of packaged products and reduce production costs. There are also plans to build a new grain elevator, which will help reduce logistics costs during the peak season for raw material procurement.
The economic rationale behind these projects is clear. Further processing and the sale of packaged refined oil potentially generate higher added value than the export of unrefined products. Having its own storage facilities allows the company to choose the most favorable time to purchase raw materials and reduce seasonal costs for their storage and transportation.
However, the new facilities must first and foremost improve the business’s profit margins. Increasing production volumes will not solve the problem if the cost of processing continues to rise faster than selling prices.
Shareholders have already decided to cover the 2025 loss using future profits. All net income the company earns in 2026 will be used to offset losses from previous years. No dividends will be paid.
The story of Floarea Soarelui illustrates why export figures cannot automatically be considered indicators of a company’s success. The plant exports nearly all the oil it produces, is increasing its revenue, investing in new capacity, and entering European Union markets with packaged products. But with margins that are too low, revenue growth does not translate into profit.
The key question for Floarea Soarelui in 2026 is whether the company will be able to produce and export even more oil. It has already proven that it is capable of doing so. The question is whether the plant will be able to generate sufficient profit from each metric ton of production, cut costs, and turn the billions of lei invested in inventory and accounts receivable into a sustainable financial result. //July 17, 2026 – InfoMarket.