2003 Chairman's Statement
This has been an extremely exciting year for Zambeef Products Plc. The company was quoted on the Lusaka Stock Exchange on 14th
February 2003. In addition to this the Company together with its
subsidiary companies have had an outstanding year with profits up
77% on the previous year. Zambeef thus continues to be one of the
fastest growing and most successful companies in Zambia. A brief
summary of the activities of the group are detailed below:
Meat operations
The meat operations have had a good year with
beef being scarce both in Zambia and the region. This resulted in
beef prices increasing in real terms which impacted positively on
the results of the division. Zambeef continues to expand and up
grade its retailing network. Zambeef hopes to open up new markets
in the region and believes this division will continue to perform
strongly in the next year.
Chicken Broiler
Operations
This division continued to be Zambeef's
fastest growing and one of its most profitable divisions. During
the year Chicken production doubled to approximately 45,000 birds
per week. In addition the chicken abattoir was modernized, upgraded
and mechanized. This has resulted in Zamchick becoming the brand
leader in the country. Zambeef intends to continue to invest
heavily in expanding its broiler operations for the next year and
believes this will again continue to be one of Zambeef’s fastest
growing divisions for the next financial year.
Chicken Layer Operations
During the year Zambeef commissioned its first two layer houses with
34,000 layers producing approximately 200,000 eggs per week. The
reception the Zamchick eggs have received in the market has been
overwhelming resulting in Zambeef planning to double its egg
production during the current year and take up the challenge of
being Zambia’s only national egg supplier. The future for
this division looks very bright for the foreseeable future
Dairy Division
This division had an outstanding year. The
company’s continued large reinvestment into this division has helped
contribute to Zammilk being the premier fresh milk brand in
Zambia. Zambeef hopes to significantly expand this division during
the next financial year.
Cropping
Division
Zambeef increased its irrigated cropping from
300 hectares to 600 hectares during the last financial year and its
Dry Land Cropping from 900 hectares to 1,400 hectares. In addition
a modern fully automated drier and silo complex was built to help
cope with the rapid expansion of this division. With the regional
shortage of crops as a result of the dramatic reduction in the
Zimbabwe maize, wheat and soya output, prices have been excellent.
Zambeef expects this situation to continue for the foreseeable
future. As a result Zambeef plans to continue to invest heavily in
expanding its cropping division with four to five new center pivots,
and two new silos planned for the next year. The growth potential
remains excellent for the foreseeable future.
Feedplant
With the rapid expansion of Zambeef’s Chicken
broiler and layer operations, the company has had to expand its
feedplant dramatically to cope with the extra demand for feed.
Zambeef now produces and feeds just under 100 tonnes of feed per day
to its broiler, layer, feedlot and dairy operations. This division
will continue to expand aggressively during the next financial year
to cope with the rapid expansion of Zambeef’s layer and broiler
operations.
Feedlot
Zambeef feedlot continued to produce
approximately 15,000 top quality grainfed steers and heifers. The
regional shortage of beef resulted in good real price increases for
beef which resulted in this division having an excellent year.
Tannery
Margins in this division were under pressure
as the world hide markets remained depressed. Despite the
depressed international hide market, Zamleather performed well and
continued to be a major non-traditional exporter with exports of
approximately US$1.3 million during the year. During the year the
tannery has worked hard on improving its finished leather production
with the intention of adding more value to its hides. The
international hide prices dropped by almost 40% in the last year.
If this situation reverses it will have a dramatic impact on the
tannery.
Zamshu
In order to add more value to its hides,
Zambeef Products Plc’s wholly owned subsidiary commissioned a new
shoe plant just before the year end. The initial response to this
division has been excellent and Zambeef believes the shoe plant will
have a dramatic effect on the results of Zamleather for the next
year
Conclusion
Zambeef can look proudly on its achievements
over the last year. The company has continued with its impressive
growth record and looks forward to the next financial year with a
great deal of confidence.
Finally I would like to pay tribute to all Zambeef’s employees for
their dedication and hardwork over the last year which has made
these very impressive results possible. In addition I would like
to congratulate the management for their outstanding achievements
and thank them for their cooperation.
Dr. Jacob Mwanza
CHAIRMAN
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