Meikles revenue up 33%

LETTICIA MAGOMBO

Meikles Limited says revenue for the quarter ended December 31 was 39% up in inflation-adjusted terms on the back of growth in sales volumes for the supermarkets and hospitality segments, Business Times can report.

Group revenue for nine months ended December 31 grew by 33% in inflation adjusted terms.

Sales volume at the supermarkets segment increased by 32% and 29% for the quarter and nine months respectively relative to same period of the previous financial year, company secretary Tabani Mpofu said in a trading update.

Stores were adequately stocked ahead of the festive season, he said.

The hospitality segment bucked the Omicron variant induced cancellations of regional and international bookings, recording a sustained growth in both room occupancy and revenue in the quarter under review.

“Room occupancy for the quarter was 17.55 percentage points above the same period of the previous financial year. The occupancy for the nine month’s period closed at 17.41%, up 4.66 percentage points from room occupancy at 30 September 2021. The average room rate and revenue per available room for the quarter grew by 63% and 398% respectively in United States dollar terms, albeit coming from low bases,” Mpofu said.

In the outlook, the group is optimistic about its prospects during the last quarter of its financial year.

“Revenue growth has remained at the same level achieved during the last quarter at the supermarket segment. The Group is focusing on cost management to mitigate the adverse impact of rising inflation to profit margins. In addition, all the group’s segments are implementing various measures to reduce the adverse impact of Covid-19 to operations,” Mpofu said.