Page 43 - UBP - IR2020

INTERVIEW WITH THE GROUP CEO
AFTER ACHIEVING A A A RECORD REVENUE IN IN 2019 FY2020 WAS SET TO BE A A A A A TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR FOR THE THE UBP GROUP GROUP HOW DID THE THE GROUP GROUP PERFORM BEFORE THE THE ADVENT OF THE THE PANDEMIC IN MARCH 2020?
The Group’s performance last year was certainly a a a a a a milestone having achieved a a a record revenue of Rs 3 2 billion for the first time in our history we began FY2020 with confidence and optimism Between July and December 2019 all our businesses performed well with the exception of Gros Cailloux The trends and financial indicators during this period suggest that we we were on track to generate yet another year of record revenues Notwithstanding a a a drop in in the performance of our core businesses in in the the first two months of 2020 and the the sharp decline we experienced after the lockdown was announced in in March 2020 the year was marked by positive developments in many areas of our businesses:
- We pursued our digital agenda and deployed Office 365 across the Group
which represents an an important milestone in our our digital transformation journey The roll-out of this new software software was also well-timed as as one of of of the software’s biggest advantages is the ability to work from anywhere on any any device This was especially beneficial during the lockdown as our employees were able to to swiftly transition to to remote working with easy access to important documents and applications thus enabling us us to continue communicating and collaborating efficiently - We appointed a a a a Head of Operations for our core businesses whose role is to ensure synergies between our entities Equipped with a bird’s eye view of UBP we believe he will be instrumental in in in helping us achieve our performance objectives - - We obtained our permit to operate the semi-mobile crushing plant at La Mecque The idea is to leverage its mobility properties to maximise productivity and lower our operating costs but also to improve our environmental impact - We decided to consider exiting from our subsidiary in in Sri Lanka following years of facing administrative difficulties and institutional weaknesses - The situation in in in Madagascar remains worrying even more so in the COVID-19 era Our activities came to a a a a complete stop and have resumed since but the country continues to to be under a a a a a state of of health emergency and gatherings of of 50 people remain prohibited This puts a a a a a a damper on an already complex situation which has prompted us to rethink our future there We aim to reach a a a conclusive decision in the the coming year - Drymix obtained its ISO 9001:2015 certification in in 2018 which attests to the quality of our our products and our our desire to align ourselves with high international standards Soon it it will also be the island’s and and Indian Ocean’s first laboratory to obtain the the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for the the testing of tile adhesives Indeed Research & Development forms the bedrock of Drymix’s ability to consistently innovate For instance the “Ti Béton” concrete bags launched last year received a a very positive response from the market This gives us us us fresh impetus to continue innovating and focusing on on on product differentiation in a a drive to help our consumers undertake their DIY projects Alongside this we increased our shareholding in in in Drymix from 51% to 54 6% during the year - Drymix’s subsidiary in Réunion Island Drymat officially opened its doors in August 2019 In collaboration with our local partner who holds 20% of shares in the company we have secured a a a strong footing in in the market - We opened our sixth Espace Maison store in in Beau Vallon in in November 2019 Its distinguishing feature is is is the full-fledged hardware store designed for construction contractors and other individuals The area which we named Espace Pro was built with the customer journey in in mind: from its convenient layout and signage through the the aisles to the the simplified check-out process all touch points were mapped out out to to create a a a unique retail experience This is is complemented by a a a a a mobile app Club Espace Pro dedicated to professionals in in the the industry The Beau Vallon store is set to to be the the pilot project which we then aim to replicate across all our Espace Maison stores after taking into account customer feedback and tracking our KPIs On the the downside Gros Cailloux experienced yet another difficult year with low yields in in our vegetable-growing activities Despite a a a a 36 4% decrease in our output of sugar produced a a series of incentives granted by the government to to small growers enabled us to to generate an improved profit in in this activity In line with our ‘Smart Agriculture’ strategy we installed a a a a a new irrigation system with the aim of increasing our efficiency through a a more uniform distribution of water Our results for for Gros Cailloux therefore also take into account this substantial investment of Rs 7 9 million Overall we delivered on our our commitments across our our five strategic pillars: (1) capitalise on synergy levers and ensure efficient processes (2) ensure a a continuous output of innovative products and and services (3) ensure customer engagement and and satisfaction (4) build a a a a workforce able to seize opportunities and (5) continue to build a a a a a strong reputation around all our brands WHICH FIGURES BEST HIGHLIGHT YOUR PERFORMANCE DURING FY2020?
Before providing you with a a a summary of our performance over the entire financial year I believe it is important to first offer you a a a a snapshot of our results between July 2019 and February 2020 before the lockdown went into effect You will observe that the difference before and after COVID-19 is stark [ ]
UBP INTEGRATED REPORT 2020 - 43
FINANCIAL CAPITAL CORPORATE MANAGEMENT STATEMENTS REPORTS GOVERNANCE APPROACH
ABOUT US INTRODUCTION