Powerspeed volumes growth pushes topline in FY23
Powerspeed Electrical’s revenue bulked 125,72 percent to $389,51 billion in the year ending September 30, 2023 from $172,56 billion in the comparative period on the back of volume growth.
Like any other business, Powerspeed faced a plethora of challenges that include inflation, rising expenses, increased regulation, informalisation, tight liquidity, fluctuating interest rates, dollarisation, exchange rate disparities and corruption.
All of which have made conducting formal business a difficult endeavour, according to group chairman Victor Gapare.
“Despite these adversities, the group has managed to have a reasonably successful year, with an overall increase in trading volumes compared to the previous year,” he said.
“Our implementation of multiple strategies to expand our market share in various areas has yielded positive results.”
The firm continued to concentrate on increasing throughput and creating real value on the balance sheet.
The twenty-second branch of Electrosales Hardware opened in Zvishavane in September 2023, bringing large-format hardware supplies to a region that had not previously had access to such conveniences.
“Although the initial throughput was slow, it has steadily increased since the branch’s opening,” he said.
It has proven to be quite difficult for the company to have a steady supply of items during the period under review.
“Suppliers from China have experienced erratic supply patterns for various reasons, while power cuts in South Africa have affected many local suppliers’ ability to meet market demand. Local suppliers have also encountered significant difficulties due to the challenging business environment in Zimbabwe.
“Despite these hurdles, we have continued to invest in stock and systems, improving product availability in all our stores. This enhanced product availability has undoubtedly contributed to the increase in throughput throughout the reporting period,” Gapare said.
Even if interest rates have dropped, Gapare said they are still far too high.
“However, the lack of liquidity has been a far more significant issue, affecting both ZWL and USD borrowings and resulting in a total unavailability of capital expansion and working capital finance,” he said.
Gross profit surged by 96,66 percent to $78,34 billion from $39,83 billion in the comparable period last year.
As expected, due to inflationary pressures in the market, the company’s operating expenses rose significantly by 81,91 percent to $60,73 billion from $33,38 billion recorded in the prior period.
The company declared a dividend of $17,280 per share.
In the outlook, the company believes that its commitment to constant development will help it to keep its top spot as Zimbabwe’s hardware supplier despite the challenging operating environment.
-ebusinessweekly
