PCL eyes power generation sector
Press Corporation Limited (PCL)—a company that holds shares in entities including Puma Energy, National Bank of Malawi (NBM), Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) and Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM)—is planning to venture into power generation sector.
Speaking in an interview after PCL’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) that took place at NBM Learning and Growth Centre in Blantyre on Wednesday, the conglomerate’s chairperson Clement Chilingulo said 2013 was a year of recovery for the group and hoped they will carry from where they stopped this year.
“We will expand the current business into sectors, including power generation and develop our operations in the telecommunications sector. We are actively pursuing and management is talking to several project financiers and come 2015 around this time something will be on the ground,” he said.
In the 2013 annual report, Chilingulo noted that the 2013 fourth quarter was characterised by the Cashgate, the looting of public funds at Capital Hill, whose effects spilled to 2014 which resulted in donor aid freeze.
Commenting on which companies will drive the group’s performance this year, Chilingulo believes that companies that are in the financial services, telecommunications and food and beverages did well last year will continue with the same trend in 2014.
According to the group’s 2013 annual report, PCL continued with its performance and achieved a profit after tax of K17.4 billion, about 83 percent above the previous year’s K9.4 billion profit.
Based on the performance, the company paid an interim dividend of K240 million, representing K2 per share in October 2013 while the company resolved to pay K841.4 million about K7 per share during the AGM which took place on Wednesday.
