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On Wednesday, 20 September
2006, Agra formally
re-opened its flagship
Windhoek branch in the
Auas Valley Shopping Mall. The Honorable
Minister of Agriculture, Water
and Forestry, Dr Nickey Iyambo officially inaugurated the new facility during
a cocktail event attended by clients,
stakeholders and industry leaders. Agra invested in excess of N$7,5 million
into the revamp and can boast of
a truly modern, state of the art facility
which caters for farmers and people
from Windhoek.
The African Magazine engaged this
Corporate sector to gauge its performance
on the Namibian market and
found this extract from the the annual
report of its Chief Executive Office.
“The Co-operative’s gross turnover
(including gross livestock transactions)
increased from N$782 million in 2005
to N$912 million in 2006, which is an
increase of 17%. Gross profits increased
by 17% for the group and by 15% for the
Co-operative to N$77 million and N$68
million respectively.
Gross value for livestock transactions
for the year under review, excluding
karakul pelts and wool, amounted to
N$512 million, compared to N$432
million in 2005.
This increase is due to
a large increase in prices for virtually all
livestock commodities.
Karakul pelt quantities sold at the two
auctions in Copenhagen during September
2005 and April 2006 amounted
to 109 807 pelts, which is an increased
of 12% compared to the 97 748 pelts
sold during the previous year. Unit prices
per pelt also increased dramatically
from an average of N$206-06 in 2005 to
N$339-30 in 2006, which is an increase
of 65%.
Turnover in the retail division (excluding
Safari Den) amounted to N$314
million (2005: N$283 million) which is
an increase of 11% over the previous
year. This was achieved although competition
in the market remained fierce
for most of the prod ucts sold by Agra.
Agra’s Property division and most of
its various subsidiaries produced satisfactory
results, contributing to Agra’s
earnings.
The Co-operative’s balance sheet
strengthened further during the year
under review recording a positive cash
flow of N$19 million for 2006 thereby
switching a bank overdraft of N$4,5
million in 2005 to a positive bank balance
of N$14 million at 31 July 2006.
Capital Expenditure proposed for the
new year includes the final upgrade of
the Windhoek branch as well as renovations
and refurbishment at Auas Valley
Shopping Mall to accommodate the
new anchor tenant Pick ‘n Pay towards
the end of November 2006.
Net Profit before tax for the Agra group
for 2006 amounts to N$1
6,4 million
compared to N$3,7 million achieved in
2005. As this was a record year in many
areas, the Board of Directors declared
a bonus to members of N$6,5 million
payable in January 2007 based on the
business conducted by each member
with the Co-operative.
According to Mr. van der Merwe,
Chairman of the Board of Directors,
Agra shares its responsibility with all
Namibians to achieve the objectives of
the national Vision 2030 which Agra
contributed to during the past year.
“We have more than 400 employees
in service and even more indirect employment
opportunities were created
through investments during the year.
Agra is therefore an important player in
the Namibian economy and must have
the opportunity to do optimal business.
Political objectives and strategies
that ignore economic realities will
hamper the agricultural sector and will
have a negative influence on Namibia’s
economy. The government has a leading
role to play to prepare a long-term
plan and strategy together with all role
players to achieve the objectives of economic
growth of Vision 2030, within a
free market economy, so that employment
opportunities can be created and
real value be added”, says Ryno van der
Merwe.
“Agra has completed a very successful
year. Disposable income of farmers,
who are our main customer base,
has increased substantially in the year
under review. Together with this, the
current attractiveness of the agricultural
market resulted in more players
entering the market. Whilst competition
is welcome, it is not always feasible
to accommodate all the players in the
small Namibian market. We are thus
certain that margins will remain under
pressure while expenses will continue
to increase. Interest rates will also continue
to rise during the coming year, as
will inflation. This again will probably
result in a decline in spending pattern
of Agra’s customer base. Another important
factor influencing Agra’s performance
is the rain season, which has
been forecast to be below average for
the period from January 2007 to April
2007. We are nevertheless confident
that Agra will be ready to face the challenges
ahead,“ say Agra’s CEO, Peter
Kazmaier.
The annual report will be available on
Agra’s website as from 9/11/06. Agra’s
AGM will be held on 23 November at
9am at the SKW.
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