Financial Year 2009 ended 30 June 2010

Financial Year 2009 ended 30 June 2010

The LEAL Group is ranked 21st with a turnover of Rs. 3 Billion, 218 Million and managed to make Rs. 37 Million of Profit 

According to Business Magazine, the financial year that has ended was a difficult year as Lindsay Riviere, Director of Business Mag, rightly put it in his "Forward" to the "Top One Hundred Companies - 2010 Edition" titled "A Difficult Year All Along".  He added that the difficulty is both at national and company level, but thanks to competent stewardship of the economy and to shrewd business strategies, Mauritius managed to pull through in better shape than many had feared.

Furthermore Lindsay Riviere pointed out that at national level, economic growth in 2009 slowed from 5.1% during the previous year to 2.8% and then went on to give economic growth at sectoral level. He considered important to point out that the Combined Profit of the Top Hundred Companies DECREASED by 23% in 2009 as corporations were left with Rs. 5 billion LESS than in 2008; a substantially lower Rs. 17.2 billion for the year, compared to Rs. 22.2 billion in 2008. Half of the companies listed in Business Mag's ranking this year, saw their profit figure shrink.

Mr Riviere is unambiguously explicit and direct concerning the future. I appreciated the following paragraph taken from his "Forward" which, I personally think, goes to Pravind Juggnauth, the Minister of Finance. "What we do NOT need these days, in the wake of a still fragile international recovery, are ideological statements made to impress, grandstanding on futile matters and rash actions that send ripples of apprehension all over the business place. Elections in Mauritius are well and truly over. There is a real world out there that won't allow us to as a nation to indulge in cheap political scoring and yet forge out way ahead in a more turbulent context. At national level, this is a time for wise men to prevail, not a time to settle political scores."

Summing up the Analysis of Business Mag.

-Combined turnover of the "Top 100 Companies" crawls to Rs. 266 Billion (+0.75%)

-Profit down by Rs. 5 Billion (From Rs. 22.2 Billion last year to Rs. 17.2 Billion)

-62 companies over the one Billion mark; 6 of them exceed Rs. 10 Billion.

Top 6 companies exceeding Rs. 10 Billion mark in terms of Turnover.

1- Air Mauritius Ltd. [Rs.18 Billion, 901 Million] - Chairman: Kamal Taposeea & CEO: Manoj Ujoodah

2- British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd. (BAI) [Rs.14 Billion, 709 Million] - Chairman: Dawood Rawat & CEO: Saleem Beebeejaun

3- Ireland Blyth ltd. (IBL) [Rs.13 Billion, 209 Million] - Chairman: Thierry Lagesse & CEO: Patrice d'Hotman de Villiers

4- CIEL Group [Rs.11 Billion, 190 Million] - Chairman: Thierry Lagesse & CEO: Arnaud Dalais

5- Group Mon Loisir (GML) [Rs.10 Billion, 200 Million] - Chairman: Thierry Lagesse & CEO: Arnaud Lagesse

6- Food and Allied Group of Companies (FAIL) [Rs.10 Billion, 139 Million] - Chairman: Michel de Speville & COO: Cedric de Speville

It is interesting to note that Thierry Lagesse is the chairman of the Board of Directors of 3 of the companies mentioned above namely IBL,CIEL & GML. He is also one of the directors of Sun Resort Limited (rank: 19th) and Chairman of Phoenix Beverages Limited (rank: 22nd), one of the directors of The Swan Group (rank: 30th), Chairman of The United Basalt Products Ltd (rank: 39th), Chairman of The FUEL Group (rank: 41st), Chairman & CEO of Palmar Limited, Non-Executive Director of Mauritius Stationary Manufacturers Ltd. (MSM) (rank: 80th). 

Unless the Thierry Lagesse mentioned above is not different persons with the same name, it is one same person playing the role of Chairman & CEO of different companies. How does he do that? Only he knows!

The LEAL Group - Where it stands.

The LEAL Group is ranked 21st in terms of Turnover for the financial year ended 30 June 2010. This represent a gain of 2 places in the Top 100 ranking compared to last year when it was positioned at the 23rd place. For the first time the group managed to cross the Rs. 3 Billion mark with a turnover totaling Rs. 3 Billion, 218 Million despite the financial crisis. But I can note a big decrease in profit compared to the recent past years. In the year 2008, LEAL Group made profits of Rs.113 Million representing a sum of more than the double of financial year 2007 which was Rs.51.6 Million. This year it seems that the Group has been severely hit by the global financial crisis with a total profit of "only" Rs. 37 Million, suffering a total loss of Rs. 76 Million compared to last year. The Group's net asset has increased from Rs. 955 Million (fin. yr. 2008) to Rs. 979 Million (Fin. yr. 2009). In the ranking by profit list, The LEAL Group is ranked 133rd with profit before tax of Rs. 37 Million with MCB ranked 1st totaling a Rs. 4 Billion, 934 Million profit!

Other Big Players in the Top 100 in terms of Turnover.

#7 - Shell Mauritius Ltd. (Rs. 8 Billion, 431 Million)

#8 - Rogers and Company Ltd. (Rs. 8 Billion, 203 Million)

#10 - Mauritius Telecom Group. (Rs. 7 Billion, 135 Million)

#12 - Currimjee Group of Companies (Rs. 6 Billion, 15 Million)

#14 - CMT - (Rs. 5 Billion, 513 Million)

#32 - HM Rawat Group of companies (Rs. 2 Billion, 392 Million)

#60 - Star Knitwear Ltd. (Rs. 1 Billion, 15 Million)

#73 - Shoprite (Mtius) Ltd. (Rs. 816 Million)

#87 - Kalachand Group. (Rs. 679 Million)

#96 - Superdist. (Rs. 573 Million)

The new comer Omnicane has a very impressive start with a Turnover of Rs. 3 Billion, 192 Million hitting the 23rd place in the Top 100.

In the Banking Sector:

The Mauritius Commercial Bank is on top of the list with a total assets of Rs. 150 Billion, 476 Million with a profit before tax of Rs. 4 Billion, 934 Million.

#2 - HSBC (Rs. 143 Billion, 252 Million) Profit: Rs. 2 Billion, 390 Million

#3 - State Bank of Mauritius (Rs. 90 Billion, 42 Million) Profit: Rs. 2 Billion, 345 Million.

#4 - Barclays (Rs. 86 Billion, 731 Million) Profit: Rs. 1 Billion, 183 Million.

#7 - Deutsche Bank (Rs. 34 Billion, 611 Million) Profit: Rs. 86 Million.

#10 - Banque des Mascareignes Ltee (Rs. 18 Billion, 768 Million) Profit: Rs. 96 Million.

It seems that The MCB hasn't been hit by the Global Financial Crisis or they developed a very good strategy to overcome the issue. MCB is listed in the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) since 5 July 1989. The current share price of the bank is Rs. 139 (19 July 2010) which is relatively high compared to other local banks (SBM-Rs. 81.50). They certainly have the required money to complete the oval building under construction at Trianon.