Chairman’s statement

for the year ended 31 December 2018

It gives me great pleasure to present our Annual Report for 2018. The year was both rewarding and challenging but we are confident of being on the right trajectory for future success.

Notwithstanding the uncertainty about Government policy to turnaround the sector, our flagship investment, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, continues to record operational improvements as reflected in improved revenue collection; reduced aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses; and modest loss reduction in the business from circa $300million in 2017 to $290million in the year under review. Furthermore, a segmentation policy is being applied in the business to identify and better resource sections of the business that are natural profit centres, and the impact of this is demonstrated in the improvement in revenue during the year.

The shareholder dispute in KANN Utility Company has regrettably not yet been fully resolved and is the subject of continued legal action in Nigeria. CEC Africa is vigorously defending its position. The other issue in KANN is the acquisition facility from UBA which we have been trying to refinance. Although discussions and engagement with UBA have continued, this too has not yet been resolved. Thus, a combination of the KANN indebtedness and delayed power sector reforms in Nigeria will remain the most significant risks for CEC Africa.

All in all, it is my firm belief that the varied challenges that we are facing are not insurmountable, and the fact that we continue to record successes, is reason enough to believe that our continued optimism is not misplaced.

Siyanga Malumo
Chairman

Related download
CECA.zm | 2018 Annual report