MedTech still pushing restructuring
Health and hygiene products manufacturing and distribution group, MedTech Holdings, which has traded under cautionary statements over the last 12 months, has reiterated its intention to transform into an investment holding company.
“ . . . shareholders are advised that discussions which involve a potential series of transactions at holding company level to transform MedTech into an investment holding company with economic rights to separate investments or portfolios of investments belonging to different owners of classes of shares are on-going.
“Accordingly, shareholders are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the company’s securities until a full announcement is made,” the company said in a recent statement.
The group’s restructuring also entails acquisition of minority shareholding in a yet unnamed private entity.
MedTech is a manufacturing, retail, and distribution company in Zimbabwe and the company operates in three market segments; fast-moving consumer goods, medical supplies, and manufacturing of light industrial products.
The FMCG division manufactures and markets personal care products, while the medical division produces pharmaceutical products for wholesale distribution to retail pharmacies.
MedTech has retail outlets in Harare and Bulawayo, and a manufacturing plant that produces petroleum jelly and glycerin, health, beauty, and personal hygiene products, and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products for the local Zimbabwe market as well as for export to Mozambique and Zambia through its subsidiary Baines Imaging Group.
At the end of 2020, Westminster Holdings Africa Limited was the largest shareholder in MedTech at 34,84 percent followed by Titanium Marketing and Distribution Pvt Limited at 31,97 percent.
GPC Trust, Agricultural Insurance Company, and Innscor Distribution make the top five shareholders at 9,35 percent, 4,13 percent, and 2,98 percent respectively.
The group owes legacy debts amounting to R25,5 million (US$1,7 million) to foreign creditors.
Of the validated debts, R24,3 million is yet to be paid while appeals have been lodged for R2,1million.
In a trading update for the quarter to March 31, 2021, the group’s first quarter sales volumes increased by 61 percent compared to the comparative prior period as a result of price stability and increased incomes resulting in improved demand.
The company said a reduction in competition from grey imports and smuggled goods due to movement restrictions, and improved working capital, management reduced the impact of any currency depreciation and thereby allowed for more aggressive sales.
The group’s FMCG segment sales volumes increased by 145 percent compared to the comparative prior period.
The company noted that if the economic improvements accompanied by a level of fiscal discipline can be maintained, it expects a better financial performance for the remainder of the year.-herald.cl.zw
