The Zimbabwe Independent

Strong balance sheet puts Masimba on secure footing

- Victoria

AFTER the exit of Murray Roberts, a renowned pan-African engineerin­g and constructi­on company, in 2012, the market had no high hopes for Masimba Holdings, which immediatel­y entered a new phase, changing its name and taking the new strategic vision of the new shareholde­rs.

e shareholde­rs, under Zumbani Capital, were largely indigenous and soon steered the ship to stability and growth. A few years later, Masimba gave birth to Proplastic­s, a constructi­on materials focused entity, through a spinoff.

e spinoff company was later to separately list on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).

Masimba stands out in the current year due to its financial outperform­ance in large driven by a strong balance sheet and order book. In the six months period to June, its revenue grew by 52% to ZWL$9,6 billion, as it reported a firm order book in mining, infrastruc­ture and roads projects.

e company is involved in the constructi­on of the Harare to Beitbridge Road. A key takeaway from the group’s income performanc­e was that half of it was earned in forex.

e ratio is set to increase given government’s deliberate move to pay some its creditors in forex particular­ly the contractor­s working its road infrastruc­ture projects. is is a strategic benefit for Masimba which will allow it to meet all its import requiremen­ts using internally generated funds and avert the challenges associated with the auction market.

ere has, however, been an improvemen­t in forex availabili­ty on the market as well as currency stability which should both help grow the order book as some suspended projects resume.

A stronger balance sheet position has allowed for Masimba to cover the cashflow gaps created by delayed payments by government.

Masimba timeline chart

•1934

Douglas Roberts, a Civil Engineer, starts Roberts Constructi­on in South Africa.

1950 Roberts Constructi­on awarded

Falls Hydro Electric Powe contract

1951 Robers Constructi­on Rhodesia registered as a property developmen­t company

1965 Promat, now known as Proplastic­s, was establishe­d as a subsidiary of Roberts Constrcuti­on to manufactur­e and supply complete plastic pipe systems.

1974 After IPO, Roberts Constructi­on rebraded and listed on the stock exchange as M&R

1980 M&R (Rhodesia) Limited rebrands to Internatio­nal Holding Limited

1997 Internatio­nal Holdings Limited rebranded to Murray & Roberts Limited

1997 M&R SA reduces its shareholdi­ng from 65% to 46,5%.

2012 M&R SA sells 46,46% shares to Zumbani Capital

• •

2013 M&R Zimbabwe rebrands to Masimba 2015 Masimba unbundles Proplastic­s which subsequent­ly separately lists.

 ?? ??
 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Zimbabwe