Sunbird profits up 80% year on year

Sunbird Tourism Limited, a home-grown listed hotel chain, has attributed an improvement in its financial results to team work and customer service, factors that have made its units a preference of both local and international tourists.

Published financial results for the year ended June 30 2017 also show that the group’s revenue grew by 24 percent from K7.2 billion last year to K8.9 billion over the same period this year.

In an interview in Lilongwe yesterday, Sunbird Tourism board chairperson Phillip Madinga said profit-after-tax of K1.072 billion was 80 percent above the previous year’s K595 million.

He said: “The good financial results have been a result of hard work of our dedicated staff and the repositioning the company undertook when I was appointed chairman two years ago.

“Our major drive has been our customer service even though some of our infrastructure still needs to be worked on. We have already spent substantial resources to renovate some of our establishments and this is bringing in good dividends.”

Madinga mentioned the Vincent’s Restaurant at Sunbird Capital and upgrading of rooms at Sunbird Lilongwe as some of the major infrastructure development projects in the past year.

He also said the recruitment of new chief executive officer Yusuf Olera has also helped the group to implement its new strategies.

On his part, Olera said the success story is a result of the confidence and support from customers both local and international as well as the staff.

Looking ahead, the company is also optimistic that with the economy showing positive signs of improvements, international tourism into Malawi will follow suit.

Sunbird Tourism owns Sunbird Capital in Lilongwe, Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre, Sunbird Ku Chawe Inn in Zomba, Sunbird Livingstonia Beach in Salima, Sunbird Lilongwe, Sunbird Mzuzu, Sunbird Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi and Sunbird Thawale in Majete Wildlife Reserve in Chikwawa. n