IBL HOUSE
IBL HOUSE
The Group continues its growth with a turnover of 37.074 billion rupees against 33.670 billion rupees from the previous year, that is a net increase of 10%.
IBL Ltd released its financial results for the fiscal year 2017-2018 at an official presentation to financial analysts and members of the press this Tuesday, September 25 in Port Louis.
Profit before tax shows an increase of 15%: Rs 2.732 billion against Rs 2.383 billion for 2016-2017 and with the operating results amounting to Rs 2.344 billion for the previous year.
Arnaud Lagesse, Group CEO, first presented the operational transformations implemented this year in support of the Group’s long-term strategy. The latter is based on three areas of development: the core of Mauritius, which represents the group’s local activities, regional expansion and world-class expertise.
The Corporate Center has restructured to provide its services to operations and the Group continues to put people as its first priority by rolling out its Human Capital strategy. The group has also implemented its digital transformation strategy and has opened a regional office in Nairobi in support of its deployment in Africa.
Most of the group’s 9 Clusters recorded revenue growth during the 2017/18 financial year, even though some companies experienced operational difficulties during the year:
Building and Engineering Cluster
The building and engineering sector was affected by the decline in shipbuilding activities compared to the previous year.
In the same Cluster, the Contracting sector suffered pressure on its margins even though it posted a significant growth in sales. Confident in the future of this sector, IBL has acquired an additional stake in Manser Saxon over the past year.
Commercial Cluster
Revenues from the commercial sector increased (Winner’s, BrandActiv and HealthActiv) and the Group consolidated the turnover of Monoprix for the first year. Some Cluster operations required restructuring this year, which resulted in lower operating profits.
Financial and Other Services Cluster
DTOS posted stable underlying earnings in USD compared to last year, but the depreciation of the USD reduced its profitability. As part of its strategy to focus on DTOS international expansion, IBL sold its stake in ABAX during the year. IBL also completed the sale of Mauritian Eagle Leasing Company Limited after the close of the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
Hospitality Cluster
The hotel cluster shows underlying earnings on the rise after the renovation of the South Ari Atoll in the Maldives last year and the LUX Grand Gaube in Mauritius this year. IBL increased its stake in LUX * during the 2017-2018 year.
Manufacturing and Processing Cluster
This sector benefited from the increase in sales and earnings of PBL. In return, the Seafood sector was affected by the application of the new fishing quotas in the Indian Ocean.
Agro Cluster
The agricultural sector has been affected by its performance in Kenya and Mauritius, with falling sugar prices and declining tonnage availability in Kenya. By contrast, activity in Tanzania has posted solid results. Alteo adjusted its accounts for the previous year mainly to harmonize the treatment of land conversion rights.
Property Cluster
The fiscal year 2017-2018 records for the first time a full fiscal year and shows convincing results. The Real Estate sector has enriched and diversified its portfolio by investing in BlueLife. Bloomage acquired the hotel La Palmeraie on the East Coast, now renamed SALT of Palmar.
Logistics Cluster
This sector records similar results as last year.
Life Cluster
The restructuring of the Life sector is paying off. Results are growing over the current year.
Arnaud Lagesse is confident in the future of the Group:
“In line with our strategy, the group has rebalanced its investment portfolio to take advantage of long-term growth opportunities. In addition, IBL has embarked on a number of business development initiatives, including in the areas of digitisation, the circular economy and sustainability. Operations, despite the short-term challenges, have excellent prospects for expansion and development.
Thanks to our efforts over the past two years and the IBL Together culture, I firmly believe that we are now ideally positioned for our future expansion. We are already reaping the benefits of our strategy in the form of solid growth.
In the coming years, we will continue to transform the business model of our Group and our operations in order to seize the opportunities of tomorrow”