SIMBISA Brands Limited says it will strategically invest in growth opportunities despite challenges faced in markets where it operates in.
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
The company was last year demerged from Innscor Africa Limited and listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).
In a statement accompanying the company’s interim results for the period ended December 31, 2015, Simbisa board chairman Addington Chinake said its regional business was affected by the effects of weakening “domestic currencies relative to our reporting currency.
In Kenya, Chinake said, Simbisa experienced currency devaluation of 14% of the Kenyan shilling to the US$ against the same period last year.
“We have continued our expansion with 16 new counters having been opened in the current financial year,” Chinake said.
He said three new counters were opened in Ghana despite the cedi experiencing a 19,21% devaluation against the dollar compared to the same period last year.
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Chinake said Zambia experienced currency devaluation of 86,49% in US$ terms compared to the same period last year owing to a dip in global commodity prices for copper resulting in depressed consumer spending.
He said Simbisa entered into a new market, Mauritius, where 10 counters were rolled out.
“We have placed our brands in competition against other world renowned brands and the initial results are more than encouraging,” he said.
Chinake said growth was slowing in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to depressed commodity prices, adding that the group was exploring expansion opportunities in the market.
“Notwithstanding market adversities prevalent in the markets in which we operate, Simbisa will continue to strategically invest in growth opportunities,” he said.
Simbisa posted a profit after tax of $2,59 million in the three months to December 31. The company has a June 30 reporting year end and after its unbundling from Innscor on October 1 2015, the period between July 1 to September 30 has been reported by Innscor.
