Sefalana on Australian push
Multinational retail group, Sefalana Holdings Limited has embarked on expanding its footprint in Australia by acquiring three more stores in the market in the next 12 months.
Last year, the Group invested an additional P25.6 million ( AUD 2.9 million) to Australia market increasing the number of its stores to five.
The Group Managing Director Chandra Chauhan said in November 2021, they embarked on Phase two of investment in Australia which includes the acquisition of additional stores. “We have acquired the first of the five stores and have approved three further stores to be acquired in the next 12 months.” He said the stores are expected to enhance the profitability of the existing portfolio. Chauhan said since July 2020 the group have exposure to the Australian Dollar and this strong currency exposure often offsets the exposure on the South African Rand ( ZAR) and serves as a partial hedge. “We will continue to invest in harder currencies to protect the overall Pula return for our Shareholders.” He highlighted that investment in Australia is doing well and is in line with budget, generating a positive EBITA and cash position. “It is the norm in Australia for long leases of 20 years or more to be entered into on properties.” On her note in the Group’s 2021 Annual Report, Sefalana Group Chairperson, Jennifer Marinelli said Innovation and diversification into new product offerings and into new territories has enabled the group’s growth over recent years. “Our preference share investment was redeemed in August 2022 after five years of very positive returns. This helped fund our expansion into Australia where we now have nine stores and soon will acquire an additional three stores. This investment in Australia is still in its early stages, and we aim to continue to re- invest into the business for the next five years.”
She said Sefalana will continue to look for further growth opportunities and will ensure they pursue their strategic objectives. “We are very cognisant of the Government’s focus areas for the development of the country, and where possible we look to identify opportunities which are aligned to those focus areas. We are confident that we have the right strategy in place to do this. During the year, some exciting new opportunities were identified, and large projects are now being pursued. We look forward to further announcements in this regard as we progress these endeavours.” However she stated that they have seen worldwide inflation set in following the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the group is not shielded from the knock- on effects of this conflict, as many key commodities consumed by the market originate from that area.” We acknowledge and appreciate the additional pressure this will place on our people and are pleased to report that we have been able to increase the salary base by more than inflation for the large majority of our staff complement. We hope that this will assist them during these difficult times.” During the year ended April 2022 the group generated a profit before tax of P334 million, an increase by 15 percent on the prior year.