When trading closed on 14 November 2015, the share price stood at 5.75p and, on Monday 11 January, the price had risen to 11.5p That day, the company was the best-performing food producer listed on the LSE and, over the previous three weeks, its share price rose by 51%.
Zambia ‘confidence’
“Zambeef’s share price in London has performed particularly well and is a measure of the confidence that investors place in Zambeef and Zambia as a whole,” said joint CEO Carl Irwin.
Between 14 December and 9 January, the company’s share price grew by 36.6%, which was particularly impressive given that the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) – a market for smaller, growing companies – fell by 1.25%.
The strong four-week performance put Zambeef in the top 10% of companies operating within AIM, according to the company’s London stockbroker FinnCap.
Macro-economic challenges
The excellent growth for Zambia’s food producer has largely been down to its cold chain food production and distribution system. This was coupled with a growing retail presence in Zambia: last year the company opened 11 outlets, bringing its total to 150 stores across Zambia, Ghana and Nigeria. Plans are also in place to open a number of additional shops across the region in 2016.
In the company’s annual financial report for 2015, the group posted impressive results. Despite significant macro-economic challenges, Zambeef reported operating profits increasing by 140% for US dollars and 189% in Zambia’s currency, the kwacha.
Zambeef is principally involved in the production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, edible oils, stock feed, and flour. The company slaughters around 55,000 cattle per year, in addition to 50,000 pigs and 6m chickens.