·         Dividend Notice: FCA

·         Board Changes: Zimplow

·         Financial Results: Masimba; WestProp

Harare - Dividend Notice: FCA

The Board of Directors of First Capital Bank declared a final dividend of US$ 0.22 cents per share for the period ended 31 December 2023. The dividend will be paid on or about the 10^th of May, 2024, to shareholders registered as at the 3^rd of May 2024. Furthermore, the Company said payments to foreign shareholders will be subject to exchange control approval and payment guidelines for foreign remittances.

Board Changes: Zimplow

Zimplow Holdings Limited announced the appointment of Mr. Willem Swan as the Group Chief Operating Officer with effect from 01 April 2024. Prior to his appointment, Willem was the Executive Head for Zimplow Holdings Limited’s Mining and Infrastructure Cluster, with thirty-six years of working experience in the FMCG, steelworks and engineering distributorship sectors.

Financial Results: Masimba; WestProp

Masimba Holdings Limited published its financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2023, reporting an 8% growth in revenue from US$49.8 million in 2022 to US$53.8 million. The surge in revenue was attributed to a notable growth in sales volumes owing to a strong and firm order book at the beginning of the year. However, the Company said overall performance slowed down in the fourth quarter following a conservative approach by management to align work execution in line with clients’ payment patterns amid liquidity constraints. Due to the performance slow-down in the 4th quarter, EBITDFVA at US$12.6 million was 11% lower than US$14.2 million recorded in the prior year. In addition to subdued EBITDFVA levels, overall profitability was weighed down by the sub-optimal currency payment mix on most of the projects that were not in line with the increased dollarisation of the economy. The Group’s total assets grew from US$63.3 million in 2022 to US$85.8 million on the back of improved contracts in progress and contracts receivables. Following a capital expenditure of US$4.2 million incurred during the period, the Company’s net cash generated from operating activities rose from US$0.8 million in 2022 to US$5 million. Capital expenditure incurred during the year included a US$ loan in the amount of US$1.4 million. The Company sustained a 100% occupancy level in its property portfolio. Masimba adopted the US$ as its functional and reporting currency effective 01 January 2023 following a 69%:31% currency mix between the US$ and the local currency.

In the full year ended 31 December 2023, WestProp Holdings Limited achieved a 38% increase in revenue from US$11,665,081 in the prior year to US$16,089,596. The Company said it had projects in the pipeline worth US$174 million of sales in the period under review, with an anticipated gross profit of US$68 million. WestProp is targeting an annual sales and gross profit of US$50 million and US$20 million respectively for the period 2025 to 2027. The sharp increase in profit after tax to US$50,284,203 in the year under review was mainly attributed to gains in the Group’s investment property portfolio. WestProp reported that its total operating expenses for the year ended 31 December 2023 were US$5,183,491 which is over 1-fold up from US$2,498,912 incurred in the prior year. However, the jump in costs was mainly driven by the Initial Public Offer (IPO) and Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) listing requirements which resulted in the Group incurring ad hoc public relations, advertising, marketing, audit, legal and other professional fees.

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