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Business Reporters
INNSCOR Africa Limited chief executive Mr Antonio Fourie has apologised for not following proper procedures when the group announced him as the new CEO last month.Mr Fourie, who also confirmed that he is yet to get a work permit, told the annual general meeting last Friday that the group felt so “embarrassed” in the manner it handled the matter.

Mr Fourie took over from Mr John Koumides, who is now the group’s corporate finance director.
His appointment and the manner it was announced to shareholders was not received well in the market and attracted widespread criticism particularly from the media.

“The group feels embarrassed by the manner in which the appointment announcement was handled especially when we ended up receiving scrutiny from the local media.

“The group failed to follow proper processes when my appointment was announced.
“As management and the board we would like to apologise on behalf of the group,” he said.

Giving the group’s trading update for the first quarter, Mr Fourie said the company recorded a 7 percent increase in trading profit due to stronger margins and lower overheads.

The group star performer was Capri which recorded volume growth of 43 percent on the back of the export programme where the company has recorded significant growth.

“Stronger margins and lower overheads, as a result of the restructuring that we have just undertaken, resulted in a trading profit increase of 7 percent,” he said.
“Work on the new fridge plant for Capri is underway with commissioning scheduled for January and then production to commence in February 2015,” he added.

Mr Fourie said business was growing “extremely well” as the company continues to accelerate its aggressive growth programme on the back of increasing competition in the market.

Irvine’s Zimbabwe had a disappointing quarter which had a low turnover coupled with lower margins.
Mr Fourie said work is underway on the new stockfeeds mill at Irvine’s which is a strategic step taken to secure raw material supply for the group’s operations. The commissioning of the new stockfeeds plant is scheduled for latter part of this year.

National Foods processed 125 000 tonnes of products which is a 7 percent decrease on last year. The gross margins have been stable and costs have been under control.

In terms of the second quarter, he said they had secured a good pipeline of raw materials and expect continuity of performance from the first quarter. From a Colcom perspective, performance has been similar to first quarter in 2014. Despite the low margin products, the business has managed to maintain volumes.

The business is targeting improving on margins management and operating efficiency to drive profitability. The core focus will be on introducing new products, brand management and managing the business’s raw materials. said Mr Fourie.

At the Bakeries, which had a challenging year in 2014, volumes and revenues were flat resulting in a 23 percent decline in trading profits.
Mr Fourie said decisions were made last year to remedy performance of the business focusing on operational efficiency and remove the excess overhead. He said consolidation and expansion of plant in Graniteside will spur growth in the second quarter and the second half.

On distribution, he said the markets remain difficult and the unit was down 20 percent year on year.
TV Sales & Home had a poor start to the quarter due to low disposable incomes in the economy.

The group’s SPAR retail operations in Zimbabwe posted a 3 percent decline in revenue compared to first quarter in 2014 due to store closures.
The SPAR DC in Harare saw a decline in revenues and margins due to the depressed state of trading among many of the independent franchisees who are struggling to finance their operations.

The business has suffered from the tight liquidity haemorrhaging the highly competitive retail sector. He added that SPAR Zambia continued to show improvements with the addition of a new store.