Energy investments bear fruit for Ariston

ARISTON Holdings Limited, a Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed agricultural company, says its investments in solar energy projects have led to significant financial savings through reduced reliance on generators and the associated maintenance costs.

The group’s largest investment so far is the plant at Southdown Estate in Chipinge, which was installed in July 2023.

The plant is integrated into the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) grid through a net metering arrangement.

Several Zimbabwean corporations have invested in solar power, driven by the need for reliable and sustainable energy sources.

Some notable examples include Caledonia Mining Corporation, Schweppes Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, and Tongaat Hulett, among others. These investments aim to reduce reliance on the national grid and ensure consistent operations.

Government has since issued several independent power producer licences to meet the growing demand for power due to economic expansion.

Zimbabwe is actively working towards becoming a net energy exporter, aiming to generate more electricity than it consumes and potentially sell excess power to neighbouring countries.

Ariston’s game-changer Southdown Estate solar plant, has generation capacity of 1,2MW, allowing it to harness the power of renewable energy and reduce its carbon footprint.

By tapping into the solar energy, the estate has reduced its reliance on generators, which were previously a significant expense.

In its recently published 2024 annual report, Ariston board chair Mr Alexander Jongwe said operations were negatively impacted by rising input costs of production for key inputs such as electricity, fertilisers and crop chemicals.

Mr Jongwe said efficiencies such as solar power adoption mitigated some of these pressures.

“Ariston Holdings Limited and all its subsidiaries together continued to benefit from the positive impact made by the installation of the solar energy plant at Southdown Estate in July 2023,” said Mr Jongwe.

“This achieved cost savings through reduced reliance on generators and the associated maintenance cost, whilst contributing towards safeguarding environmental resources through the use of a renewable energy source.

“While solar installation reduced generator reliance, gains were partially offset by increased grid electricity tariffs.”

Building on this success, Ariston recently revealed that the group intends to establish more solar installations at Roscommon, Clearwater and Kent Estates to address the challenge of power outages and reduce the high costs associated with generator use.

Ariston’s strategy aligns with the broader trend of companies across various sectors investing in solar energy to reduce reliance on the constrained national grid and improve operational efficiency.

This move also supports the Government’s initiative to encourage independent power generation.

In addition, Zimbabwe is promoting investments in renewables, among them solar and hydro, as part of a Government strategy to reduce energy-related emissions by about a third by the end of 2030.

Meanwhile, Mr Jongwe has said revenue of US$7 066 million generated during the year, which is nine percent ahead of the prior year.

This was mainly attributable to improved macadamia volumes and selling prices.

“The cost of sales, however, worsened slightly by their percent as a result of the increased costs of fertilizers, crop chemicals, and electricity, resulting in the group reporting a gross loss of US$1 389 028 despite improved revenue,” said Mr Jongwe.

“The three joint ventures, namely, Bonemarrow Investments (Private) Limited trading as Claremont Powerstation, Claremont Orchards Holdings (Private) Limited, and Mombe Shoma (Private) Limited, contributed positively to the group’s financial performance.”

In the comparative year, Mr Jongwe said the group had unrealised exchange losses, mainly arising from United States dollar-denominated liabilities.

He said that since the change in functional currency, exchange gains have been generated arising from Zimbabwe Gold-denominated liabilities.

He added that the finance cost increased by 23 percent compared to the prior year.

“As a result of all the above, the group posted a 29 percent improvement in the loss for the year before other comprehensive income,” he said.-herald