Cables manufacturer, CAFCA Holdings reported a 49% gain in volumes for the year to September 30, 2021 on the economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Said chairman, Honour Piniel Mkushi:

“The improvement in economic activity coming out of the pandemic lockdown saw volumes increaseing from 1744 tonnes in the prior year to 2604 tonnes in the current year an increase of 49%.

“Local demand picked up by 57% whilst exports improved by 16%.

“Turnover, profit after tax and earnings per share in historical terms increased by more than the exchange rate inflation.”

CAFCA’s capacity remained at 250 tons a month as no investment was made in the year under review on new plant “as all the foreign currency we could source was prioritised to procuring raw materials and spare parts.”

The 49% increase in volumes was the main driver in turnover increasing in historical terms by 293% to ZWL$3.3 billion.

Management said profitability at 31% of turnover is ahead of the group’s benchmark and attributable to the benefit of carrying stock in a hyperinflationary environment.

In terms of outlook, CAFCA managing director Robert Webster said:

“The biggest challenge the manufacturing sector has at the moment is to access sufficient foreign currency to maintain the momentum and growth that all stakeholders desire – provided timeous availability of foreign currency we are confident that volumes will grow in the coming year both in the local and export market.”