Tiger Brands dismisses executives
Whistleblower is from within
TIGER Brands had fired executives at its Kenyan business, Haco, for overstating sales at its Nigerian arm, the company said yesterday.
Tiger Brands chief executive Peter Matlare said that the company had instituted a civil claim against Haco’s managing director for overstating profit figures. Four Haco executives had been sanctioned, he said, adding that a whistleblower from within the group had made the tip-off.
“He was able to manipulate the figures and influence key individuals. They got to a point when they were not getting the number of sales they had hoped for,” Matlare said.
“The four that have been sanctioned have the right to appeal or pursue a mitigation of sentence.”
Tiger Brand’s shares on the JSE yesterday fell 4.53 percent to close at R295.10.
South Africa’s biggest con- Tiger Brands has been trying to make a profit at Dangote since acquiring a 63.35 percent stake in 2012 for R1.5 billion as part of a plan to invest in the rest of Africa.
The company said that the DFM would require more financial support from shareholders to stabilise the business and to help it achieve longterm growth plans.
In November, Tiger Brands impaired R105m in factory assets and it wrote down the value of its Nigerian business by R849m in May. It posted a 7 percent increase in total group turnover to R15.9bn in the period under review.
Earnings a share from continuing operations rose by 121 percent to R8.32.
Tiger Brands awarded shareholders, declaring a R3.39 dividend, up 3 percent from the half-year to March last year.
Mark Saner, an equity analyst with Imara SP Reid, said that the Kenyan and Nigerian operations detracted from a reasonable domestic business performance. “Whilst Dangote Flour Mills was expected to underperform, the weaker naira compounded this further and although the company did not take any further impairment on DFM it has not ruled out doing so at the year-end,” Saner said.
“The profit manipulation that took place in the Kenyan operations has also overshadowed results,” Saner added.
The group said it would continue to focus on delivering against its key strategic objectives, improving the equity of its brands in the core South African markets and positioning the international businesses for growth.
“Whilst the relentless focus on cost savings and efficiencies will remain, further investment will continue to be made on innovation, customer engagement and brand development,” it said.