Rants, Raves & Reviews
Sales down 13% yoy.
Gross Profit down 6% yoy.
Other Operating Profit up 197% yoy. Ahhh... no details on what this is. Sale of assets?
PAT up by 26% yoy BUT see "Other Operating Profit".
Sameer Africa was affected by the PEV in 2008 & the subsequent knock-on effect on sales later in the year. Anyway, that is history.
How will 2009 be?
IMHO, it will be much tougher. Why?
- Costs of production in Kenya remains high including interest costs, electricity & transport costs.
- The depreciation of the KShs vs US$ will hurt import input costs. Imported might be pricier if imported from non-US$ countries e.g. India
- Competition from multiple brands e.g. Pirelli, Michelin, Apollo, etc
Firestone used to be the first choice for Kenyans but I think there has been a major shift since it became Yana. Nakumatt sells 5+ brands & this shows a change in preferences. Yana tyres are NOT the cheapest in the market. Yana needs to sell the 'quality' of their brand to succeed.
2010 - The business park should be reaady but I do not trust naushad merali. I wonder how much SA will benefit from the business park vs merali. I think merali will suck the majority of the profits/gains from the business park.
Anyway, let's wait for the Annual Report.
