MEIKLES LIMITED
INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT RELEASED ON 18 FEBRUARY 2013
This Interim Management Statement is issued by Meikles Limited in accordance
with the UK Listing Authority's
Disclosure and Transparency Rules. Unless stated otherwise, key trends and
figures highlighted below refer
to the nine months ended 31 December 2012 and the corresponding period in the
previous year.
REVIEW OF OPERATIONS
The Group has continued to perform well from the time the interim results were
released. This is despite the challenges of the operating environment still
characterized by low liquidity and to some extent low business confidence.
Group revenues for the nine months ended 31 December 2012 increased by 16%
compared to the prior period driven by increased volumes and margins. Group
costs only show an increase of 3% over the same period and resultantly,
operating profit is showing a significant increase compared to that achieved in
the prior year.
As reported in the interim Chairman's statement dated 21 November 2012, the
Group is pursuing opportunities in the mining sector and has made the necessary
applications to the regulatory authorities. Stakeholders will be updated once
there are new developments on this initiative.
TM Supermarkets has upgraded the Westgate branch and rebranded it into a Pick n
Pay store, bringing the number of Pick n Pay branded stores to two in the
country. In addition, one of the Chinhoyi branches was also refurbished and
this has continued to operate as a TM branded store. New refrigeration and air
condition units were installed at the flagship Borrowdale branch, while the
refurbishment works at the Hwange branch are nearing completion. TM has seen
increased volumes and margins from the refurbished branches. The branch
refurbishment programme is an on-going exercise as we seek to improve our
offering at all branches that we operate from.
The refurbishment programme at Meikles Hotel is nearing completion and we
expect the new rooms to be available to our guests before the end of our
financial year. Procurement of materials to refurbishment the Victoria Falls
Hotel has started and is in progress. It is anticipated that phase one of the
renovations targeting approximately 44 rooms and public areas at the Victoria
Falls Hotel will be completed at the end of July 2013 and in time for the UNWTO
conference. Phase two to complete the remaining rooms will commence after the
UNWTO conference.
The departmental stores' performance which has not measured up to expectations,
reflect the challenges in the operating environment. The revenues have not
grown while credit has been deliberately curtailed pending improvement in the
economy.
Plantation development on the Tanganda Tea Estates is being advanced. To date
187 hectares of avocadoes, 457 hectares of macadamias and 125 hectares of
coffee have been planted. The global tea prices have gone up in the past months
and this augurs well for tea revenues. Despite a late start to the rainy
season, good rains have been received through January 2013 to date and we
therefore expect tea production to increase in the coming months.
We remain optimistic and positive about the outlook in most of our businesses.
Our performance in the financial year ending 31 March 2013 is expected to show
much improvement from the outturn of the previous financial year.
END
Issued on 18 February 2013
Notes:
1. The financial information on which this statement is based has not been
reviewed and reported on by the Group's auditors.
2. Please note that matters highlighted above may contain forward looking
statements which are subject to various risks and uncertainties and other
factors, including, but not limited to:
- business conditions.
-political environment
-market related risks.
• A number of these factors are beyond the Group's control.
• These factors may cause the group's actual future results, performance or
achievements to differ from those expressed or implied.
• Any forward looking statements made are based on the knowledge of the Group
as at 18 February 2013.
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.