On a Date with Central African Cables Limited (Cafca)

Dating is a critical stage to any investor considering to take a position on any asset class even shares.

#1. History,

1870, William Ormiston Callender sets up Callender’s Cable and Construction Company (CCCC).

1890, British Insulated Wire Company (BIWC) is formed at Prescot near Liverpool, UK.

1925, BIWC is renamed British Insulated Cables.

1945, CCCC and British Insulated Cables combine their operations and become British Insulated Callender’s Cables (BICC).

1947, BICC help in the  establishment of Rhodesia Cables (RC) in the now Zimbabwe.

1983, a change of name to BICC-Cafca.

1990, listed on the stock exchange.

1996, a new telecommunication cable production facility is opened.

1999, BICC-Cafca’s parent company is bought by General Cables of USA

2010, Cafca becomes the new name of BICC-Cafca after a lengthy process.

#2. Operations,

CAFCA is a manufacturer of cables and allied products for the transmission and distribution of,

° Electrical energy and

° Information

in Southern and Central Africa

#3. Customers,

CAFCA is primarily a business to business (B2B) company which supplies its products to,

Mining Houses

Previously it had contracts with the Australian conglomerate BHP Billiton.

Power Utilities

Telecoms

Hardwares

Construction

#4. Competitors,

It has a monopoly on the manufacturing of cables in Zimbabwe.

However the cost of production in Zimbabwe is steep due to ageing equipment.

The above creates  opportunities for foreign cable manufacturers to supply the market cheaply.

#5. Management,

Robert Neill Webster – MD

He has been at the helm of CAFCA Limited since 2006.

Joined the business from CFI Holdings were he led the poultry division.

Robert is an experienced manager who has track record for financial management.

#6. Share Price related statistics,

• ZWL250 per share as at 11 April 2022.
• ZWL170 per share at the beginning of 2022.
• +47% YTD gain, 13,200% Y/Y gain
• ZWL2.183 billion market cap (US$33m)
• Relatively illiquid and 46th most traded stock on the ZSE over the past 3 months to February 15, 2022.
• Issued shares 33,389,000

#7. Shareholding,

Reunert Electrical

50,46% of CAFCA is held by a unit of Reunert Limited which is listed on the JSE.

Messina Investments

11,42% of CAFCA is controlled by Nicholas van Hoogstraten the British businessman with interests in CFI, RTG & HCCL.

#8. Pitch,

• Holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of cables in Zimbabwe. This helps in pricing of products.

• Licenced buyer of decommissioned cables for recycling which helps reduce the need for forex to import raw materials.

• Secondary listing on the ZSE.

Each week will be on a DATE with a company listed on the ZSE with Martin Mataga Twitter @MartinMataga.

The purpose of this thread is to assist investors to have a minimum appreciation of listed firms.

Disclaimer: Do not misconstrue this thread as investment advice. DATE companies before you buy their shares.