ZIMPLOW HOLDINGS LIMITED
The group manufactures and markets a diverse range of products for the construction, infrastructure and agricultural sectors in
It also manufactures and distributes metal fasteners for the mining, construction and agricultural sector, and has interests in property management and leasing.
The company, in a first quarter trading update to
On the agricultural side, the softening of producer prices, together with the lower-than-expected rainfall for the 2021/22 season affected yields, which gave rise to reduced disposal income by the farmer.
Sharon Manangazira, the group's secretary, said
"The board is encouraged by the resilient performance as Management continues to take advantage of pockets of opportunities in the market given the diversified structure of the Group," she said.
She added that the group was in a strong position given its diversified structure to build on the resilient first quarter performance despite the challenging trading environment.
"In addition, the steps taken by the board, which included the realignment of the executive management structure to group strategy and the leveraging upon group synergies has propelled the Group to a position of being a one stop shop for its customer base," said Mrs Manangazira.
In addition, she noted that the new positioning in the earth moving market was expected to unlock the group's capability, infrastructure and expertise to deliver sustainable returns.
In terms of individual subsidiary performance, Farmec which is under the agricultural cluster recorded a significant growth in volumes across all product lines with tractors and implements volumes increasing by 53 percent and 13 percent respectively.
Parts sales and service capacity utilisation increased by seven percent and 51 percent respectively against prior year and same period under review.
"Farmec is expected to continue driving group performance given the firm demand experienced in the first quarter of 2022," said Mrs Manangazira.
Mealie Brand registered a 26 percent growth in export implement volumes ahead of prior year, despite local implements volumes dropping by 15 percent compared to the same period last year.
Mrs Manangazira said the erratic rainy season and hyperinflationary environment dampened uptake of animal drawn implements locally, hence farmers relied on maintenance of their existing implements resulting in the growth of spares sold by 41 percent against prior year respectively.
"We expect the export market volumes to continue to deliver positive performance given the better rainfall patterns experienced in the region outside
"Going forward, Management will continue to focus on improved factory efficiencies to ameliorate the global raw material cost push factors," she said.
Under the mining and infrastructure cluster, Barzem performance for the quarter has been restricted by foreign currency bottlenecks resulting in depressed volumes of earth moving equipment at 88 percent below last year's performance for the first quarter.
Mrs Manangazira said management concentrated on value preservation and the provision of tailor made services in order to meet the fleet maintenance needs of our customers.
"To that end, workshop efficiencies were 53 percent ahead of prior year for the same period under review."
She noted that CT Bolts continued to be on a growth trajectory, with a 25 percent increase in tonnage of fasteners sold compared to the same period in the prior year.
"A focus on the core business, which is delivering quality and reliable fasteners to the sectors we operate in, has so far driven CT Bolts performance," she said.
At Powermec volumes in gen-sets and solar equipment were 44 percent ahead of prior year whilst capacity utilisation increased by 71 percent.
Mrs Manangazira said the top line improved by 230 percent in comparison to the same period in the prior year and the performance of the solar range of products continues to gather traction.
"The group looks forward to a strong performance premised on increased demand for alternative power products given the power outages experienced so far in 2022," she said.
Under the Logistics and automotive cluster,
Mrs Manangazira said that the availability of trucks and buses from the principal supplier has improved and in addition, volumes sold in the period under review were in line with prior year.
"Parts sales increased by 57 percent and service hours grew by six percent. It is pertinent to point out that with improved supply of trucks and buses, the business unit is confident of increased sales volumes going into the third quarter of 2022," she said.
The group's Trentyre performance for the quarter came at the back of significant supply chain realignments which is anticipated to offer the business unit strong prospects of growth in the rest of the year.
During the period under review, the business unit recorded a 21 percent growth in off the road tyres, whilst lower than prior year performance for the commercial and consumer tyres resulted in an average 14 percent drop in revenue in first quarter of 2022 in comparison to prior year same period.
Copyright The Herald. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source
