×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Meikles suffers from RBZ payment delays

News
Meikles Limited group said the delays in the payment of funds owed to them by the RBZ has affected operations and capacity to pay off its short-term borrowings.

ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed retail and hospitality concern Meikles Limited group said the delays in the payment of funds owed  to the group by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has affected operations as well as capacity to pay off its short-term borrowings, the company has announced. Report by Victoria Mtomba

The company is owed $40,5 million since 1998 and has incurred $26 million interest since dollarisation.

Government has undertaken to settle the central bank’s debt which rose at the height of the apex bank’s involvement in quasi-fiscal activities.

The group’s liquidity ratio, stood at 0,66 following short of the standard efficiency of 1.

In a statement accompanying the group’s financial results, Meikles Limited chairman John Moxon said the funds on deposit with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe originated from the listing of the group on both the local bourse and the London Stock Exchange and the raising of funds from a number of substantial international investors for the benefit of the group.

“This outflow is the result of interest paid to third parties which need not have been incurred. This sum added to the balance of the sum on deposit would total $82 million and is more sufficient to eliminate all short-term borrowings,” he said. Moxon said the funds were remitted to Zimbabwe and ultimately placed on deposit with the RBZ at the insistence of the central bank governor Gideon Gono to be used for balance of payment support.

The group posted a profit of $6,5 million in the year ended March 31, 2012 from a loss of $5,4 million in 2011 buoyed by a growth in revenue. Earnings Before Tax Depreciation Amortisation for continuing operations stood at $8,9 million.

Moxon said: “We continue to incur substantial interest costs although these costs did not increase relative to the previous year. It is calculated that our inability to recover our deposit from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has resulted in the group paying excessive interest costs of $7 million during the year under review.”

He added that this year the group would incur interest costs of $8 million if it fails to recover the funds from the RBZ.

Moxon said the group would be pursuing mineral operations in 2014 as it had secured mines in   Midlands.

“The group also has opportunities relating to gold and tantalite. We plan to have at least one producing mine in operation in 2014. We have signed a memorandum of understanding which will shortly become full shareholders agreement with a substantial technical partner to pursue these opportunities including the provision of necessary capital skills and expertise in mining, ” he said.

The group’s subsidiaries include TM Supermarkets, Thomas Meikles, Meikles Guard Services, Tanganda and Meikles Hospitality.