Agrifoods boosts CFI performance

CFI Holdings (CFI) says the performance of its subsidiaries under judicial management improved significantly during the half year to March 2019, bouyed by Agrifoods’ revitalisation.
This comes as the milling unit, which had been under care and maintenance, recently resuscitated operations after the sequestered entities’ judicial manager obtained capital expenditure two years ago.
The group’s entities under judicial management — which include millers Victoria Foods, and Crest Poultry group — posted a profit before tax of $1,1million against losses of $900 000 incurred in the prior period.
“This improvement was underpinned by the recovery of Agrifoods’ trading performance attributable to the RTGS$2,2million loan funding availed to the business,” Itai Pasi, CFI’s acting board chairperson said in a statement accompanying the group’s results.
“Agrifoods made commendable progress in reclaiming lost market share, leveraging on CFI Retail’s extensive distribution network and targeting medium to large scale commercial farmers. The brand has been well received by the market.”
The concerned subsidiaries were placed under judicial management in 2016 to allow for “debt restructuring, re-organisation and recapitalisation”.
This was after various creditors had obtained orders and writs of execution against the group’s assets, while annual revenues had dropped from about $52 million in 2012 to $14 million in 2015.
Pasi noted that the conglomerate, which is seeking readmission to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, has since concluded a scheme of arrangement for Crest Poultry that is on course to exit judicial management before the end of the financial year.
“The group continues to work with the judicial manager regarding Victoria Foods, and has commenced settling the debts owed to Victoria Foods’ creditors to ensure its exit from judicial management,” she said.
Meanwhile, the company is in discussions with new management at the local bourse to resolve an impasse which resulted in the company’s shares being suspended from trading.
Pasi said the company is “hopeful that all outstanding issues will be resolved to enable the lifting of the suspension placed on the company’s shares”.
The group was suspended from the local bourse in January last year for failing to comply with regulatory obligations.
The ZSE indicated then that for CFI to resume trading, the company has to address corporate governance-related matters which include the appointment of a substantive board chairperson, chief executive and finance director.
The company is also required to expedite the appointment of independent non-executive directors who are not affiliated or have any association with any of the company’s shareholders.
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