Masimba ex-CEO Malunga elected director at Proplastics, shares jump

Business Writer

Shareholders of plastic pipes and fitting manufacturer, Proplastics, on Thursday last week approved the election of former group chief executive officer of Masimba Holdings, Canada Malunga, to the company director.

Malunga retired from the position of chief executive officer of Masimba Holdings on 31 December 2023.

In 2013, Masimba Holdings underwent a major shift under his leadership when it rebranded from Murray & Roberts (Zimbabwe) Limited.

In 2015, its manufacturing division, Proplastics, was unbundled and listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

Accordingly, shareholders also approved a share buy-back scheme.

The company has been seeking authorisation to repurchase its shares, with a maximum limit set at 10 percent of its issued ordinary share capital.

This action is intended to enhance shareholder value and demonstrate confidence in the company’s financial position.

For the first five months of 2024, Proplastics sales volumes declined by 60 percent compared to the prior period last year.

Consequently, revenue was flat compared to last year.

Exports retreated by 96 percent. They are now at 1 percent, compared to 14 percent in the prior period.

“This has been caused by the conversion costs in the local currency, which are quite high in US dollars, and electricity, which is quite high.

“Also, we have got competition in the local countries that we are exporting to that are getting favourable terms of trading in terms of their economic environment, which is better than where we find ourselves right now.

“The 25 percent surrender value that is retained by the authorities when we export, it’s causing a nightmare in terms of how we treat it now in the environment of ZiG,” Proplastics’ chief executive officer, Kuda Chigiya, told shareholders attending the annual general meeting.

As part of its sustainability initiatives, the company’s half-megawatt plant is poised to provide about 50 percent of its power needs during the day.

In the outlook, the company’s focus area will be centred on streamlining operations, post-containment, and value preservation.