Zimpapers Logo

Masimba CEO Mr Canada Malunga presenting the company’s results.

Conrad Mwanawashe : Business Reporter

Masimba Holdings has an active order book of $18,2 million for 2016 which is expected to return the group to profitability this year. In an update for the first quarter of 2016 Masimba Holdings chief executive officer Canada Malunga said housing infrastructure accounts for $8,2 million of the $18,2 million order book.The trading update was presented at the analysts briefing on the group’s year to December 2015 yesterday.

Mining accounts for $3,0 million, buildings — industrial $2,0 million, buildings — commercial $2,5 million and other orders account for the remaining $2,5 million.

Mr Malunga said the current momentum has no comparison in the company’s performance over many years and started in the fourth quarter of last year.

“We got very busy towards the end of the year and for the first time in many years we had to work on Boxing Day and we also worked on New Year’s Day,” said Mr Malunga.

“Out of the $18,2 million order book, about $10 million or so ideally should be complete by the time we come to the market for the half year results. The rest will spillover into the second half of the year. When we look at the areas that we are working on in Zimbabwe at the moment, never in a very long time have we been this dispersed throughout the year. From Bindura to Kezi to Filabusi to Mberengwa, Zaka, Masvingo, Shurugwi, Zaka, Kadoma we are basically spread around the country,” said Mr Malunga.

He said this could be indicative of the liquidity situation in the market.

“In the old days we would have been very busy with very big projects but the size of the projects that we are executing now have become much smaller compared to what we used to do in the past. But we have streamlined the business for it to be able to fully exploit the small to medium sized projects that we are working on.

“We are very busy at the moment. When we compare to where we are now to our first three months of last year. There is certainly no comparison, when we try to project to June this year compared to June last year we are operating on double the levels that we were at. There are no plants in our workshops and fully deployed. We are confident that in 2016 certainly we will be coming back to profit position,” he said.

In the full year to December the group’s turnover declined to $10 million, a reflection of the depressed built environment that prevailed in the country particularly in the first half of the year.

The group said the level of business activities significantly improved in the final quarter of the year following the implementation of own initiated projects and a general improvement in the built-environment.

In that regard, Mr Malunga said the third quarter of 2015 accounted for about 45 percent of the revenue for the entire year under review.

Government debtors reduced to $901 000 versus 2014 balance of $3 million (2013: $5,7 million).