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Dairibord Malawi Limited on Thursday presented interim dividend cheques of K1.3 million each to government through the Privatisation Commission (PC) and National Investment Trust Limited (NITL).
Dairibord Malawi managing director Phillip Msindo said his company’s profits have grown this year as evidenced by the higher dividends paid compared to last year.
“This year’s dividend is 181 percent above last year’s and that is why we decided to handle it in a different way. Last year’s interim dividend was K2.7 million and this year’s interim dividend is K7.6 million,” he said during the presentation spiced by a cocktail party.
He said over the past three years, Dairibord has paid out K5 million total dividend in 2001, K7 million in 2002 and K11.1 million last year.
The company is owned 60 percent by Dairibord Zimbabwe, 20 percent each by Malawi Government and NITL—the country’s first collective investment trust. Msindo described it as an example of a cross-border joint venture between two African countries which, he said, is bringing out a win-win situation.
Dairibord started its operations on January 6, 1998 following the privatisation of Malawi Dairy Industry, taking over from the loss-making company and has since converted it into a profit making company.
In his remarks, PC executive director Maziko Sauti-Phiri said the K1.3 million interim dividend was a fruit of privatising public enterprises and the cheque will be passed on to Treasury.
“If government continued to own MDI it would have foregone this K1.3 million cheque and instead continue to subvent it but now it is gaining,” he said.
On his part, NITL representative Dr. Zach Chalira agreed with Sauti-Phiri that the ceremony symbolised the need for government to stop running businesses but leave them to the private sector.
“Government has no business to do business but to set a framework for business growth,” he said.
Chalira said NITL was set-up to assist Malawians to own public enterprises and currently there are about 600 Malawian shareholders in the trust.
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