Diversified group, Axia Corporation extended its profit for the six months to December 2022 on the back of improved exchange rate stability and foreign currency sales.
Axia recently exited the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and listed on the foreign currency-quoted Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) but their interim results were prepared in the Zimbabwe Dollar. The group however indicated that its full year results will be indexed in USD currency in line with VFEX guidelines.
The Group reported revenue of ZWL$75.555 billion in inflation adjusted terms during the period to achieve a 44 percent growth compared to the comparative period.
The revenue growth filtered into gross margin which increased by 36 percent on prior period. Operating expenditure increased by 54 percent on comparative period due to indexing of cost base to the US$. The Group posted an operating profit of ZWL$10.396 billion, representing a 16 percent increase on the comparative period.
As a result, profit before tax of ZWL$15.030 billion was reported which was 78 percent ahead of prior year. Basic Earnings Per Share and Headline Earnings Per Share both improved by 61 percent.
The Board declared an interim dividend of US$0.0018 (0.18 UScents) per share.
“The second quarter witnessed subsided inflation and exchange rate volatility and this resulted in increased foreign currency transactions,” the group chairman Luke Ngwerume said.
Net borrowings decreased by ZWL$2.78 billion mainly due to high interest rate increases of up to 200 percent which were put in place by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to curb inflation during the period.
At its flagship subsidiary, TV Sales & Home, second quarter volume performance was up 22 percent compared to the same period in prior year attributable to successful market activation promotions namely Black Friday and Ho-Ho-Home which were well received by consumers.
At Distribution Group Africa (DGA) – Zimbabwe, year to date volumes were 27 percent below the prior comparative period and this resulted in a decline in revenue. This has been a result of the weaker demand in the formal sector.
At Transerv, revenue and volumes were on an upward trend, as the Company started recovering from the restrictive pricing challenges experienced during the first two months of the financial period. Revenue was 3 percent below the comparative period.
