OVERVIEW
THE BUSINESS STRATEGIC AND OPERATING CONTEXT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL REVIEW
QUARTER 3 QUARTER 4
1 . Thobo Trust launched a new Early Childhood Development ( ECD ) centre at the Itokisetseng Combined School in Wesselsbron . The annual Christmas Tree project was also hosted .
2 . Senwes , together with various partners and sponsors , extended drought relief to the drought-stricken areas of Kenhardt , Brandvlei , Calvinia and Pofadder in the Northern Cape in the form of 160 tonnes of white maize .
3 . Senwes provided flood relief to producers affected by above-normal rainfall in the Free State districts of Hoopstad and Bultfontein by making earthmoving equipment available and sponsoring the diesel thereof .
4 . From 1 November 2020 the Suidwes retail branches were integrated into Hinterland . The Suidwes retail branches in Wesselsbron and Bultfontein were closed . The Hinterland retail branches in Bothaville and Wolmaransstad were closed and transferred to the Suidwes branches .
5 . Wynland ( Pty ) Ltd , a 100 % subsidiary of NviroTek Laboratories , was incorporated into NviroTek Laboratories as a division , and new financial and laboratory information management systems were implemented .
6 . Bastion procured and constructed a modular plant at Marico to permanently increase production capacity . The production at Marico increased by 150 % compared to the same period during the previous year .
7 . Bastion obtained 51 % shareholding in Pelelani ( Pty ) Ltd , which will be focusing on the optimisation of limestone resources .
8 . Senwes Credit transferred its operations to a separate legal entity ( Agri Credit Solutions ) as part of the group ’ s restructuring process .
9 . As a result of Covid-19 , all Hinterland capital projects were suspended and limited to emergencies only . This includes upgrades at the Oberholzer , Bloemfontein and Hoopstad fuel stations . A point of sale forecourt system was installed at all the fuel stations and a property in Doringkruin , Klerksdorp was acquired to erect another fuel station .
10 . The results of the subsidiary of KLK Landbou , Carpe Diem Raisins , increased by 111 % compared to the previous year , mainly due to 3 768 more tonnes sold and the impact of the weaker rand as most of these raisins are exported .
11 . As a result of the Suidwes merger , Senwes ’ storage capacity increased by 30 % due to the additional silos of Suidwes Landbou .
12 . A bin at Allanridge which was damaged due to spontaneous combustion , was replaced at a cost of R10,4m . 13 . A strategic decision by Senwes resulted in the closure of its grain trading business , Tradevantage . This resulted in the business model being changed to sell grain on an equal basis on Basislink to all role players in the market .
1 . Senwes Equipment effectively merged with Agrifriend Equipment , consolidating the two mechanisation businesses . Seven of the nine Agrifriend Equipment branches remained operational . These branches will supply surrounding areas as John Deere dealers . 2 . The integration of the Suidwes branches into Hinterland has been completed and the benefits are already becoming evident . 3 . The Agrinet wholesale business was successfully incorporated into
Prodist .
4 . The Hinterland retail division achieved a record turnover during February 2021 . Pre-season sales for February 2021 were more than double compared to the previous year .
5 . In terms of Hinterland ’ s turn-around strategy , a new management team was appointed and cost reduction measures were implemented . Total expenses were 19,8 % lower than the 2020 financial year . Inventory processes were also optimised with the development and implementation of a new automated ordering system .
6 . The sales of Agrinet increased by 24 % and new product ranges were introduced including Revet cleaning products , Agpro sanitisers , Worksmen handtools , Skudo , Basecamp , Cascade pumps and Wortex pumps .
7 . During the month of March , Agrifriend Equipment was appointed as agent for John Deere Construction and Forestry Equipment in the Northwest , Free state , Northern Cape and Eastern Cape . Agrifriend Equipment will launch these product ranges during the 2022 financial year .
8 . Bastion ’ s gypsum plant in Britten was upgraded and the production capacity improved from 10 tonnes per hour to 30 tonnes per hour .
9 . Phokeng gypsum was added to Bastion ’ s product offering and calcite-dolomite-gypsum and calcite-dolomite blends are now also produced at the Marico plant .
10 . KLK rolled out a new credit model in conjunction with Agri Credit Solutions and they will continue with the insurance broking model on an agency basis with Certisure , which will also align with the credit solution .
11 . Agribel Holdings , Senwes ’ holding company , acquired Grindrod ’ s Senwes shares during March 2021 . These shares were in the market for quite some time since Grindrod was exiting non-core investments in terms of its strategy . Agribel now holds 74 % of the issued shares in Senwes and is well positioned to consider potential strategic equity opportunities .
12 . As part of the Suidwes transaction , Senwes acquired two petfood businesses , namely Supreme Pet and AgriPet . The Senwes Group strives to hold investments in companies closely linked to the agricultural sector only and therefore subsequently sold these two businesses to external parties .
13 . The growth in the debtors ’ book for the 2020 / 21 financial year amounted to 6 %. This was primarily due to an increase in production credit and term loans . The production credit increased by 7,5 % ( R187,5m ) and term loans by 5 % ( R83,7m ). The growth was primarily in the traditional Suidwes area , as well as the Eastern Free State , Mpumalanga and KZN-areas where the integrated production credit model with Hinterland was rolled out .
14 . Silo aeration upgrades were completed at a cost of R10m in order to improve the efficiency of receiving grain at higher moisture levels .
RESILIENCE SENWES INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
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