Choppies emerges from hard times
Choppies Enterprise Limited has announced to its shareholders an anticipated profit for the financial year ended June 2021, as the company regains its former brilliance on the market.
The country’s biggest grocery group reported that it expects the consolidated profit after tax, including discontinued operations for the period financial 2021 to be between 106 percent and 126 percent better than the loss after tax of P370.6 million reported for the financial year 2020. This represents a profit after tax of between P22.6 million and P96.7 million.
The Botswana Stock Exchange listed behemoth’s anticipated profits come following an aggressive market purchase of the company’s shares by the founding directors
- Farouk Ismail and Ramachandran Ottapathu, who increased their shareholding in the retail store. The development comes at the backdrop of the leading fast moving consumer goods ( FMCG) announcing plans to restore its glitter on the market.
Choppies has over the past four years been a loss making company, punctuated with boardroom squabbles. According to Ottapathu, who is also Choppies’ Chief Executive Officer, the turnaround comes after restructuring the business and exiting underperforming investments in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. Last year, Ottapathu told Botswana Guardian his intentions to resuscitate Choppies from its doldrums.
“We will bring back the lost value in the next coming years, as soon as possible,” said Ram, adding that lessons learnt from the challenges have left the company mature.
He emphasized that the main intention is to stay afloat through latest technologies and new ways to connect with consumers and adapting to the transforming retail sector.
“To compete effectively, we should re- imagine how we create and capture value. New retail models are arising out of new technologies and new ways to connect with consumers,” said Ottapathu.
Meanwhile, the latest announcement on the bourse further indicated that profit before tax for the period financial 2021 is expected to be between one percent and 21 percent higher, translating to P105.7 million and P126.7 million than the profit before tax of P105.0 million reported for the period financial year 2020.
Choppies, which is also listed on the highly acclaimed Johannesburg Stock Exchange ( JSE) expects the 2021 financial results to be released on or about 22 September 2021.