Furnmart closes Zambian operations

Furniture group, Furnmart this week notified shareholders that year-end results will be delayed as the company has just begun winding up one of its non-Botswana operations.

The said subsidiary is in Zambia, said deputy Chairman, Tobias Mynhardt. The results of the BSE-listed company were expected to have been out on or before the last day of October 2016. Now the company, which has a market capitalisation of P630millionsays the results will be publicised not later than 28th November 2016.

Efforts to get a comment from Furnmarttop executives on why the company is closing its operations in the copper-rich country proved futile yesterday (Thursday). However, the company’s 2015 annual report had intimated that the Zambian unit was not performing satisfactorily. The weaker Zambian Kwacha has been blamed for the poor profits in the Furnmart subsidiary.

“Management will proceed with caution in Zambia,” said the annual report. Last week, the Daily Nation reported that 350 jobs will be lost at HomeCorp and Furnmart Zambia when the company finally exits the country.  Meanwhile, the company which owns HomeCorp and Furnmart stores has already notified shareholders in a notice that results for the year to be reported will be 10 percent lower when compared to the same period last year(H2:2015).