Country MD’s Statement

Despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain disruptions, the company delivered robust health, safety, operational, logistics, and financial performance this year. These results were achieved through the resilience of our committed workforce and diligent management strategies.

Notable Achievements:

– The company saw improvements in health and safety measures with the safety vision of “zero harm to employees.” An increase in the Total Injury Frequency Rate was attributed to rising medical treatment cases, which have been identified as a focal point for improvement.
–  Over 98% of our employees have been vaccinated against COVID-19, marking us as a leader in employee vaccination within the Illovo Sugar Africa Group.
–  Despite the appreciation of the Kwacha leading to increased illegal imports of sugar and a reduction in export proceeds, our financial performance was consistent with the previous year, enabling us to pay dividends to our shareholders.

Revenue rose by 3% compared to 2021, hitting a peak of K 5.1 billion, with domestic sales volume at a record 276,071 tonnes. This reflects the successful implementation of our commercial strategy and logistics optimization.

Moving Forward:

Our goals for the future involve continuous improvements in cane production and sugar yield. We also plan to maintain our commitment to a robust environment, social, and governance (ESG) agenda. In the upcoming financial year, we will continue to leverage the resilience we have developed, aiming to extend the success of the last four years of successive earnings growth. While we anticipate challenges, we remain confident in our ability to deliver strong performance. Our sincere gratitude goes to the board, employees, and management for their dedication, resilience, and commitment that has allowed the company to create value for shareholders and stakeholders.