Paul Nyakazeya, Group Digital Editor 
PIPPING products maker Proplastics says it will focus on strengthening its working capital position in anticipation of increased demand for the group’s products.
Chairman Gregg Sebborn said with the business and the general economic environment improving, as well as the recently constructed new factory and mixing plant fully operational, the focus was now on strengthening the group’s working capital position.
“It is expected that demand for the group’s products will continue to be buoyed by the various sectors of the local economy. There is an upsurge in demand, especially from the mining sector as well as other sectors.”
“The optimisation of the group’s working capital, in particular raw material stocks, will depend on foreign currency availability on the auction platform as current allocations are well below the group’s requirements,” Sebborn said in the group’s annual report, which was released last week.
He said the group had maintained sound relationships with suppliers, but there was risk of straining these if forex allocations remain inadequate.
“The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has recently provided some assurance that the auction backlog is to be significantly reduced and the auction made more relevant to the requirements of the market.
The war in Ukraine will certainly have an impact on the business, in particular raw material supply of hydrocarbons origin, and the group is already working on mitigatory measures to minimise the risk posed. The impact of the war on agriculture, however, will most likely result in more aggressive investment in this sector in our economy and this augurs well for our business,” Sebborn said
He said the new 500mm line had since arrived and was already under commissioning. Proplastics said this line would address the demand for large bore PVC diameter pipes, which is on the rise, and significant orders for this product have already been received prior to commissioning.
Sebborn said the group was now well positioned to capitalise on certain opportunities to widen its footprint in the region and efforts were underway to investigate in detail these potential initiatives.
“Turnover grew 57 percent to $2,77 billion from $1,762 billion in prior year (in inflation adjusted terms) on the back of a 24 percent rise in volumes and taking cognisance of price adjustments due to the global increases in the main components of raw materials,” he said.
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