Zimplow in ZSE swansong
BUSINESS REPORTER
Zimplow Holdings Limited made its swansong on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) on Monday after 324,300 shares exchanged hands on its last day of trading as it eyes a listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX).
The value of the transaction was ZWL$79,221,500.00. The company will be delisted today, ending its 72-year flirtation with one of Africa’s oldest stock exchanges.
The distributor of agricultural, infrastructure, mining, transportation and automotive equipment will list on the VFEX tomorrow, lured by incentives rolled out by the dollar-denominated bourse.
Trading of Zimplow shares begins on July 17.
This comes after Zimplow’s shareholders unanimously voted for delisting of the company’s shares from the ZSE and listing on the VFEX.
Zimplow said listing on the VFEX would increase marketability of the group regionally, which can lead to improved flexibility in raising external capital and funding for regional expansion against a ‘dollarised’ balance sheet.
It said listing on the bourse would allow Zimplow to take advantage of offshore settlement options, which allow investors to efficiently repatriate their dividends thus eliminating the foreign currency risk of holding shares as a foreign investor.
In the five months ended May 31, Zimplow’s revenue (excluding Barzem) was 4% ahead of the prior year.
It said costs remain contained on a year-to-date basis with a focus to unlock operating margins, which are currently below the group’s targets.
In the outlook, Zimplow said it was taking a cautious approach as it enters the second of the year.
“Financially, management is focused on cash generation, cost containment and balance sheet preservation. Operationally, the group will follow through in establishing capacity in factories, efficiencies in new operating units and safeguarding its market share in this already depressed trading environment,” group CEO Vimbayi Nyakudya said in a trading update for the 5 months ended May 31.
