In the first quarter ended December 31, 2023, sales volumes in the paper division were down 53 percent owing to operational downtime that was necessitated by plant restructuring.
“The paper division’s capex and restructuring efforts, which include increased tissue production capacity to 45t per day and moving operations to Kadoma, will likely resolve the segment’s losses in the medium to long term.
“The planned land disposals will also be key to the turnaround of the segment and the group’s weak balance sheet,” Morgan & Co stated in its recent report.
Art’s topline surged 67 percent to $58,9 billion in the quarter under review despite economic headwinds that impacted raw material availability, operating costs and liquidity.
In terms of the divisions, battery volumes declined by 14 percent from the prior year’s volumes of 91 226 units due to depressed demand and pricing challenges in the market.
Eversharp volumes rose 19 percent to 15,18 million units in the first quarter ended December 31, 2023 attributed to improved product availability.
It also comes as the business increases its marketing expenditures in response to growing competition from imports.
“Demand was firm and budgeted volumes could not be met due to the delayed delivery of raw materials,” Art group chief executive, Milton Macheka, said in a trading update.
At Mutare Estates, timber volumes at 2,583 cubic meters increased by 16 percent from the prior year as demand remained firm and sawmill efficiencies improved.
Macheka said the group expects the economic landscape to continue to be dynamic and complicated.
“The group will continue to implement difficult short-term measures to safeguard profitability and liquidity to enable the business to withstand an extended period of uncertainty.
“The group continues its drive to reduce short-term borrowings whilst exploring appropriate funding options for its growth initiatives for the core energy storage business,” Macheka said in his outlook.
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