Lafarge Zimbabwe appoints Nyika new CEO

Staff Writer

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed cement producer Lafarge Zimbabwe Limited has appointed Precious Nyika as the new chief executive officer.

Lafarge Zimbabwe is a unit of dual listed Swiss based LafargeHolcim, which trades its shares on the Euronext and Swiss stock exchanges. Lafarge Zimbabwe board chairman Kumbirai Katsande said Nyika’s appointment is with effect from March 1.

Nyika succeeds Siame Kaulule, who left the company last month to assume a different post at Lafarge South Africa. He had joined the company from Lafarge Holcim in the United Kingdom where he was general manager for retail.

Nyika previously served Lafarge Zimbabwe as director human resources, strategy and communications.

She is a holder of a post graduate diploma in leadership from Harvard Business School, Masters in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science Honours in Psychology both from the University of Zimbabwe and the Institute of People Management of Zimbabwe.

Lafarge swung to profit in the six months to June 2019 against a loss in the prior comparative period thanks to good volumes despite the uncertainty and prevailing macroeconomic challenges.

The company recorded a modest ZWL$2.9m profit in the reviewed period from a ZWL$1.8m loss in the same period last year.

The achievement against severe headwinds prompted Lafarge board chairman, Kumbirai Katsande to say that the company, one of the leading cement makers in the country, has turned around.

Other financial metrics also showed improvements with gross profit sitting at ZWL$36.5m, which represent 42% of sales against the prior comparative period’s 33%. The business, however, was hampered by an increase in operating costs resulting in a modest profit of ZWL$2.9m.

Revenue for Lafarge went up 169% to ZWL$87.5m in the period under review from ZWL$32.5m in the same period in 2018. Assets grew 149% to ZWL$227.4m from ZWL$91.2m in the same period last year.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button