Bidvest Namibia

 

Highlights

  Preparations well advanced for Namibian listing  
  Strong performance  
  Excellent horse mackerel catch rates take Bidfish profit to record levels  
  Bidfish reopens canning facility and re-employs 700 seasonal workers  
  Some Bidcom teams double their profit  
  Strong growth in ship and rig repairs in Walvis Bay increases demand for Bidcom’s
logistics and agency services		  
  Growth at Oshikango Rosh Pinah, Oshakati and Tsumeb widens the Bidcom footprint  
  Angolan customers have positive impact on Bidcom products and services  

    Sebby Kankondi, chief executive
 

  Financial indicators
(for the year ended June 30) 		 2009  
R'm  		 2008  
R'm  		 %  
change  
  Revenue   1 616,4   1 377,3   17,4  
  Trading profit   294,3   164,0   79,5  
  Operating profit   294,7   162,3   81,6  
  Operating assets   459,8   546,0   (15,8) 
  Operating liabilities   343,3   281,6   21,9  
  Depreciation   30,2   18,5   63,2  
  Amortisation and impairments of intangible assets   5,8   1,7   241,2  
  Goodwill and intangible assets   121,0   83,0   45,8  
         
         
  Sustainable development indicator overview   2009   2008*   
  Employees   1 998      
  Total training spend (R’000)  2 757      
  Training spend per employee (R)  1 380      
  Employees attending HIV/Aids training (%)  6,5      
  Lost time injury frequency rate   9,7      
  Work-related fatalities (number)  0      
  CSI spend (R’000)  211      
  Enterprise development spend   0      
  Total water usage (litres ’000)  84 434      
  Total electricity usage (kWh ’000)  6 213      
  Petrol (litres)  458 756      
  Diesel (litres)  398 185      
  Total carbon emissions (tonnes)  3 031      
  Carbon emissions per employee (tonnes)  1,5      
*Bidvest’s Namibian interests consolidated and reported in 2009 for the first time

 

Strategic positioning

The common characteristic of all businesses is quality, reliability and the ability to act as a solution provider rather than an arm’s length supplier.

Sustainable development

BIDVEST FISHERIES

Namsov complies with the regulations of the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and the International Maritime Organisation’s pollution prevention standards. We supported government’s sharp reduction in the total allowable catch to 230 000 tonnes two years ago and this year enjoyed an outstanding horse mackerel season. Though pilchard stocks remain under pressure, catches are recovering.

We minimise collateral damage through targeted mid-water trawling and the use of mesh sizes that avoid harvesting juveniles. Our by-catch dropped from 2,5% to less than 1% – close to the lowest worldwide.

We encourage employees to establish their HIV status and provide ARVs.

Reopening of our Walvis Bay pilchard cannery enabled us to offer re-employment to 700 people, many unemployed since their lay-off six years ago by previous owners.

Namsov is using its capital and expertise in a joint venture with four small local fishing companies. The Namsov Community Trust invested R3,5 million, bringing the total since 1990 to R24,5 million.

BIDVEST COMMERCIAL HOLDINGS

Our companies enjoy good industrial relations – there was no industrial action. Yet, retaining skilled employees remains a challenge. We maintain our focus on HIV/Aids, but cultural sensitivities make it difficult to establish prevalence rates.

Key environmental issues are efficient fuel usage when transporting goods across the vastness of Namibia and management of sulphur and zinc in Lüderitz. Manica is ISO 9001:2000-compliant. No spills were reported and no fines levied for non-compliance with environmental regulations. Additional sustainability information is available on the Bidvest website.

QUICK LINK

 

Performance

We focused on preparations for a listing on the Namibian stock exchange. The business put in a strong performance. Pleasing results were achieved, with revenue growth of 17,4% to R1,6 billion (2008: R1,4 billion) while trading profit rose to R294,3 million (2008: R164,0 million).

Benchmarks

Benchmarks are generally set on a year-on-year basis, with allowance for key variables such as exchange rates, especially in our fishing companies as sales are denominated in US dollars while catch rates and the state of the international fish market have a material impact on performance. In the case of Bidcom units, data from corresponding commercial operations in South Africa provides a yardstick for profitability and expense control in branches or businesses of comparable size.

Divisional revenue and trading profit were above target.