I
am pleased to report that the financial year ended September
2007 has once again been another excellent year for the Zambeef
group.
Turnover increased by over 30% to K292bn and
profit before tax increased by over 31% to K28.2bn. The interim
and final dividend pay out of K9.5bn for 2007 is 11.8% higher
than last years dividend pay out of K8.5bn.
All divisions showed good growth, with notable
performances being recorded in the beef & cropping divisions.
One of our key strengths and reasons for our
continued success lies in our diversification strategy and our
significant reinvestment policy, which has reduced earnings
volatility and improved the quality of earnings. We continue to
expand our business in areas where we believe we have a
competitive advantage.
During the financial year under review, we
invested in excess of K33bn in developing, expanding and
diversifying the business, the most notable capital expenditure
projects being the wheat mill, bakery and three abattoirs.
We
are also in the process of concluding a number of significant
acquisitions, including the acquisition of the Amanita Premier
Oils Ltd business, the acquisition of the assets of Amanita
Milling Ltd and the acquisition of four farms in the Zambezi
Valley.
The acquisition of the Amanita Premier Oils Ltd
business has strong synergies with Zambeef, as it will
compliment our current product line of basic food products sold
in our extensive retailing network by adding cooking oil to this
product range.
Furthermore, the soya cake, sunflower cake and
cotton cake, which is the main by product from the production of
edible oils, is the protein source for Zambeef’s stock feed. The
opportunity exists in the future to further expand our stockfeed
operations, of which there is a huge demand both within Zambia
and the region.
The Zambezi Valley farms total approximately 8
357 hectares, of which only 960 hectares have been developed. We
propose to invest significant amounts of capital to raise the
developed/irrigated hectarage by an additional 1 500 hectares.
This will mean that Zambeef will consolidate its position as the
largest irrigated row cropping operation in Africa, with over 5
000 hectares under irrigation and an additional 1 500 dry land
crops.
With the continued growth of the Zambian
economy, Zambeef is well placed to benefit significantly from
this growth and we can look forward to more success in future
years.
As Chairman of the company, I would like to
express my gratitude for the support I have received from my
colleagues on the Board as well as members of Zambeef’s senior
management.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to pay
tribute to all our employees for their loyalty, enthusiasm and
team spirit, which has ensured another very successful year for
Zambeef.
