Simbisa Brands commissions 30 new stores in Zimbabwe – NewZimbabwe.com

By Alois Vinga

FAST Foods Retailer, Simbisa Brands says 30 new stores have been commissioned in Zimbabwe to date on the back of yielding resilient management strategies defying the headwinds.

Presenting the group’s performance for the period ended December 31 2022, Simbisa group chief executive officer, Basil Dioniso said the group managed to overcome headwinds and undertook an aggressive expansion drive.

“Despite challenges in the operating environment, the Group continued to expand its footprint in Zimbabwe by opening 30 new counters.

“This expansion drive, together with a relaxation in trading restrictions in 1H FY2023 versus the prior year period, during which Zimbabwe’s counter trading hours were still 37% below capacity, resulted in a 38.4% increase in customer counts in 1H FY2023 versus the prior year,” he said.

He also revealed that the drive to increase delivery capacity through the scaling of operations has been successful, with the total number of deliveries and revenue per delivery increasing 54% and 34%, respectively, in 1H FY2023.

Real-term average spend increased 6,8% year-on-year due to the implementation of the aforementioned Group pricing strategy and the increased contribution from deliveries with inherently higher average spend.

“Resultantly, Simbisa Zimbabwe registered top-line growth of 31% year-on-year. Significant power shortage experienced during the period under review resulted in interruption of trade, increased running costs and higher maintenance costs,” said Dioniso.

During the period, group revenue increased by 23% (+31% in Zimbabwe and +12% in the Region).

Growth in Zimbabwe is largely from an increase in customer counts of 38,4% with regional average spend increasing by 8,3%.  The group also recorded an increase in interest income largely from short-term financial assets.

During the period, profit attributable to shareholders and headline earnings increased by 32% and 16%, respectively.

“Despite economic headwinds with significant currency devaluations and record-high inflation levels in our operating markets, the Group has managed to grow the business to record levels.

“We expect sustained improvement in customer counts in the financial year ahead through implementing the strategies mentioned earlier to drive revenue growth through new store openings and diversification of revenue streams,” added Dioniso.