Sunbird awaits govt on stake dilution

Sunbird Tourism plc says it is still waiting for Malawi Government’s decision on possible dilution of its 71 percent stake in the hotel chain. 

Sunbird chief executive officer Sam Mwale said this during the company’s 35th annual general meeting at Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre on Thursday in response to revived calls for government to reduce its shareholding in the hotel chain to attract new investors to boost capital for infrastructure projects.

The Malawi Stock Exchange-listed Sunbird Tourism plc has 71 percent of its stake owned by government, with 14 percent owned by the public and 15 percent by Press Corporation plc.

Mwale, while admitting that government’s shareholding of government in the firm is bringing some problems, said there is little they can do on the matter.

He said: “We appreciate and know this has been an issue for some time and government is aware. Nonetheless, we cannot tell a shareholder to disinvest.

“We also understand and appreciate that raising funds for our development agenda will indeed be a challenge if the government is not much willing to dilute its stake, but we cannot push for this.”

But Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies general secretary Frank Harawa maintained that the government’s delay to reduce its stake in Sunbird is a huge cost to the company.

“It is either government divests or reduces its shareholding so that Sunbird raises capital for its infrastructural projects,” he said.

In the year ended December 31 2022, Sunbird Tourism plc posted a 307 percent increase in profit after-tax to K3.1 billion from last year’s K749 million.

The hotel chain has also declared a final dividend of K393 million or K1.50 per share, bringing the total dividend for the year ended December 31 2022 to K524 million or K2 per share.

This is a turnaround from a two-year dividend drought that shareholders for the hotel chain have had to endure.