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Mernat Mafirakurewa Business Editor
THE country’s largest blanket manufacturing company, National Blankets’ judicial manager Philip Ndlovu, says the Bulawayo company is now debt-free and is working on addressing working capital challenges to increase production as it forges ahead with a turnaround strategy that will take the company back to its former glory days.
The company, which has been under judicial management since 2012, is slowly coming out of the woods.
Ndlovu told Business Chronicle in an interview yesterday that the company was on the road to recovery and significant progress had been made in turning around the fortunes of the company, once among the biggest employers in the city. “I am happy with the progress that has been made so far. There is production going on at the company,” said Ndlovu.
“We need another 18 months to take National Blankets to its previous peak levels. We are now basically dealing with working capital issues instead of debt overhang issues. There is no more debt.”
Ndlovu expressed optimism about the prospects of the company given the local demand for the company’s products.
He said what the company required was additional funding to boost production.
At its peak, the company used to export to South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, among other countries in the region.
Last year, the firm disposed its property – Industrial Plot number 39 – to the National Social Security Authority as part of efforts to settle debts.
Ndlovu last month told local media that the company had crafted a turnaround programme that would see National Blankets return to profitability in the not so distant future.
The company shareholders and creditors last year entered into a scheme of arrangement that had provided a foundation for new investment.
A scheme of arrangement is a court-approved agreement between a company and its shareholders or creditors (lenders or debenture holders), which may affect mergers and amalgamations and may alter shareholder or creditor rights.
Online Reporter