GREYSTONE DEBT INCREASES BY E6M

MBABANE – Greystone Company debts have increased from E55 million in 2020 to E61 million in the current period under review.

This was revealed by the company in their audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021. An audited financial statement is any financial statement that a certified public accountant (CPA) has audited. When a CPA audits a financial statement, they will ensure that the statement adheres to general accounting principles and auditing standards which takes a period of six months. Kobla Quashie and Associates audited the company. Greystone said the debt was raised to fund a portion of the equity investments made to date and their investment portfolio (at a company level) is valued at E615.8 million (2020: E565.8 million).

They said the portfolio achieved an 8.8 per cent growth in value over the period, driven by broad increases in the valuations across most of the portfolio, including Ngwane Mills (Pty) Ltd, Lojaf, Alliance Foods (Pty) Ltd and Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC). “Greystone’s investment activity in the financial period under review included no new investments or follow-on investments in current portfolio companies,” said the company in the statement. They also mentioned that Mazars Corporate Finance (Pty) Ltd (Mazars) was engaged to perform the independent valuation of the company’s unlisted investments.

Gain

Greystone said the fair value gain of E50 million, as compared to 2020’s fair value loss, can be attributed to the turnaround in economic conditions and the reopening of the Eswatini economy to some extent, coupled with improved expectations and current trading conditions. They said this resulted in a commensurate increase in valuations for the underlying portfolio companies.  “The largest contributors to this fair value gain include, among others, are Lojaf (E27 million), ESRIC (E17.2 million) and Ngwane Mills (E9.8 million).” “The investment portfolio remains relatively robust with numerous portfolio companies continuing to invest in growth, despite certain economic head winds and uncertainty being faced, among others being the global presence and persistence of inflation and resulting increases in global interest rates,” Greystone added.

The company also mentioned that operating expenses relate largely to Alliance Foods, GAFE and Lojaf which include advertising costs, rent, salaries and wages, royalty fees as well as other operational costs relating to the operating of the KFC’s, OBC’s, Pick n Pay’s and West Pack’s operating under these subsidiaries. They said the largest expense specifically related to their management fee of E8.4 million (2020: E11.3 million), including audit fees, independent valuation fees and investment committee as well as other governance related costs.

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