By JAMES KUNDA? –
ZAMBEEF Products Plc projects to record increased profits following recent macro-economic stability recorded in the country’s economy.?Giving an update on the company’s performance for the year ending September 30, 2014, Group chief executive Carl Irwin and Francis Grogan in a joint statement said the exchange rate returned to relative?stability, resulting in reduced foreign exchange losses for the company.
“We are pleased to say that following a difficult year in 2013, which continued into the first half of the current financial year, the macro economic backdrop experienced in Zambia recently has been stable and more helpful to Zambeef both operationally and financially and we are hopeful that this situation will continue into the 2015 financial year,” Mr Irwin said.
Mr Irwin said that with the operational platform that the company had established over the last few years, focus remained on developing value added products in particular to underpin long term performance.
He said the company looked forward to making continued progress towards its aim of becoming a major African food producer, as well as unlocking value from within the Group.
In the interim results announced on 16 June, 2014, Zambeef highlighted a number of issues which impacted negatively on business in the first half of the year.
These included extreme exchange rate volatility, the effects of the African swine fever, lower soya bean prices, and the imported beef products as well as the resulting impact on retail sales.
“It is pleasing to report that, during the second half of the financial year, the exchange rate has returned to relative stability, resulting in reduced foreign exchange losses compared with the first half, and the African swine fever outbreak in 2013, which inhibited the movement of livestock, has now been resolved by the Zambian Government,” he said.
He said following an anticipated good wheat harvest and higher prices in the second half of the financial year, the cropping division of Zambeef was likely to perform above expected levels for the year as a whole.