If you’ve followed the fortunes of Zambeef (ZAM) since the start of the year, you’ll know that the African agricultural conglomerate had a pretty diabolical first half. The local currency, Zambia’s kwacha, depreciated by more than 15 per cent. For a company whose costs are skewed to US dollars, Zambeef took a real hit. Then there was an outbreak of African Swine Fever, which made it impossible for Zambeef to sell any of its pork products for three months. Finally, historically low soya bean prices sapped earnings in the cropping and oils divisions.
The good news, however, is that Zambeef bounced back in the second half. The group made a first-half loss of $6.3m, but $2.7m of pre-tax profit in the second. On an adjusted basis, that left Zambeef with a $0.3m pre-tax loss for the full year.
Chief executive Carl Irwin is confident that the momentum will continue in the current financial year. He is also looking to form further strategic partnerships in a similar vein to its Zam Chick and Zamhatch joint ventures with Rainbow Foods.
Broker Panmure Gordon expects a pre-tax profit of $7.8m for the current financial year, giving EPS of 2.3¢.
| ZAMBEEF (ZAM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 13p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 32m | |
| TOUCH: | 12-13p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 45p | LOW: 12p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 85¢ | NET DEBT: | 20% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 162 | 3.3 | 2.6 | na |
| 2011 | 207 | 10.6 | 5.1 | 77 |
| 2012 | 255 | 3.1 | 1.2 | nil |
| 2013 | 300 | 4.1 | 1.1 | nil |
| 2014 | 279 | -3.6 | -1.7 | nil |
| % change | -7 | - | - | - |
Ex-div:NA Payment:NA £1=$1.57 | ||||
