Mall of Zimbabwe construction commences in 2024

Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) listed property firm, WestProp Holdings Limited, says construction of the first ever regional mall in Zimbabwe – the Mall of Zimbabwe, is expected to commence in 2024.

Plans are already at an advanced stage for the project to kick off.

The ambitious project together with others set for 2024, align with the group’s long-term goal of placing a billion bricks in the ground by 2050.

The property firm has committed to launching two multi-billion-dollar developments, Pomona City and The Hills Golf Estate, both set to be unveiled in 2024.

Pomona City is envisioned as a “City within a city”, while The Hills is poised to become one of Africa’s premier golf estates.

“We are also pleased to confirm that we are in the final stages of negotiations for Zimbabwe’s long awaited first ever regional mall “The Mall of Zimbabwe” which we expect to go to ground by mid-2024,” said chairman Dr Michael Louis in a performance update for the half year to June 30, 2023.

The historic development will see Zimbabwe boasting the largest commercial development in Africa that is set to become the biggest shopping centre (92 000 square metre, once completed) in the country and the second of its kind in the region.

Meanwhile, the first half of this year presented economic hurdles, characterised by a slowing economic activity due to a sudden surge in inflation and exchange rate volatility.

This difficult period was eventually mitigated towards the end of the review period, thanks to Governmental monetary initiatives designed to stabilise the economy, a stability, which gave WestProp the confidence to forecast an improved operating environment for the latter part of 2023.

With the US dollar environment currently stable and low inflation rates, there are expectations and hopes for significant economic and business growth across the board.

“We hope the current stability of the US dollar environment and low inflation will continue to be maintained thus enabling all businesses and the economy to register significant growth,” said Dr Louis.

In terms of financial performance, the group reported a slight increase in revenue, amounting to US$11,770,480 during the review period, up from US$11,656,632 recorded in the same period last year.

The board has given the green light to current projects valued at US$147,000,000 in sales with an expected gross profit of US$68,000,000. These projections align with WestProp’s commitment to delivering an annual gross profit more than US$20,000,000 for the next three years.

Net profit after tax for the half-year period came in at US$ 2,721,188. Additionally, a market-based valuation of the group’s assets, including a 70 percent interest in Sunshine Developments (Private) Limited, yielded an aggregate fair value of US$201,750,000.

However, Dr Louis indicated that operating expenses for the first half of 2023 experienced a substantial increase, totaling US$2,374,208 compared to US$1,249,458 for the same period in 2022.

This rise in costs is attributed to requirements associated with the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), Initial Public Offer (IPO), and listing, which resulted in additional expenses related to public relations, IPO, audit, and professional fees.

Liquidity for the group improved markedly by 248 percent, with cash and equivalents standing at US$1,495,991 as of June 30, 2023, compared to US$430,091 recorded on June 30, 2022. This improved financial position is reflected in the group’s current ratio, reported at 4,7 times as of June 30, 2023.

Considering the results, WestProp’s directors declared a dividend of 46 percent of the net profit after tax, translating to US0,04 cents per share payable to ordinary shareholders from the distributable profits for the half year under review.-ebsunessweekly