Zambeef, the vertically integrated agri-food PLC with operations in retail, cold stores, cropping, meat and dairy processing, reported a fourfold increase in pre-tax profits for its 2018 financial year to just under $2.4m (€2m).

Founded in the early 1990s by Irish man Francis Grogan, Zambeef has grown to become the largest integrated food company in Zambia. Zambeef is listed on the London stock exchange and today accounts for over 20% of Zambia’s wheat production, 25% of its soya and accounts for about a third of its poultry production, as well as being the country’s largest pork and beef processor.

For its 2018 financial year, operating profits at Zambeef increased by more than a third (+36%) to $10m (€8.8m), as profit margins in the business expanded from 3.6% last year to 4.3% in 2018. Sales for the year grew by 14% to just under $235m (€206m), primarily as a result of strong sales growth in its retail stores and higher sales of animal feed.

In 2018, the group reported a near 8% increase in the sales volume of beef to 18m kg, while chicken volumes increased 13% to 13m kg. Zambeef said milk collections during the year fell by 4% to 19m litres, while pork volumes declined 8% in the year to 10m kgs.

Zambeef’s 25,000ha cropping division harvested almost 45,000t of soya beans and 44,300t of wheat during the year. This raw material was then used in the company’s stock feed business, which sold over 200,000t of animal feed to farmers and agri-stores in 2018.