Abu Dhabi-listed food and drinks firm Agthia Group is aiming to double revenues by 2020 through organic growth and acquisitions, its chief executive has said.

Agthia reported it made a net profit of Dh231 million ($63 million) last year on a 13 per cent rise in revenue to Dh1.87 billion ($509 million), boosted by new products and exports.

“Our action plan is to grow our revenues to over $1 billion by 2020 by growing our businesses organically as well as through mergers and acquisitions,” Iqbal Hamzah told Reuters.

Agthia is eyeing acquisitions in the Gulf in the water, juices and dairy sectors with the company expecting to firm up one deal in the coming months, he said.

While Gulf economies are expected to slow as lower oil prices reduce state spending, areas which are less affected by the economic cycle such as food, healthcare and education are continuing to expand strongly due to the region’s young and increasingly-affluent population.

This means businesses coming onto the market are attracting significant investor interest. Investcorp made its largest ever acquisition in the Gulf region when it bought a stake in Saudi supermarket chain Bindawood Holding and Almarai is said to be among the potential bidders for Abu Dhabi’s National Food Products Company.

Agthia acquired Dubai-based Al Bayan Water in October for a price of between Dh160 and Dh180 million, Hamzah said, adding that the company has surplus cash of Dh500 million and an additional Dh250 million  earmarked for capital expenditure in 2016.

This year he said he expects a double-digit percentage rise in revenues and profit as the company expands in some of its business lines and launches new products.