One billion meticais for the state from Mozambique Ports and Railways dividends – Noticias

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

One billion meticais for the state from Mozambique Ports and Railways dividends – Noticias

6:48 CAT | 09 Jul 2021

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The Mozambican state will this year receive about one billion meticais [around US$15.7 million] of dividends from the public company Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM).

In the 2020 economic and financial year, CFM generated net income of more than 5.2 billion meticais, an amount considered positive even taking into account the impact of Covid-19, which constrained business activity in the country and worldwide.

Factors contributing especially to the company’s performance include the resumption by CFM of the management of the Port of Nacala, from January 2020, after having been concessioned to CDN, and the positive performance of the Port of Beira oil terminal, particularly in the handling of fuel in transit to Southern Africa’s hinterland countries.

A CFM source stated that, of 2020 earnings, around 10% (522 million meticais) would be reserved for the social fund, and another 67% (3.5 billion meticais) for investments.

In the recently released 2020 financial statements, the company highlights that, in compliance with the objectives of its 2018-2020 Strategic Plan, approximately US$202.1 million (about 15 billion meticais) were spent on increasing rail traffic, as well as on increasing efficiency in the handling of goods at the terminals under the company’s management.

In large-scale investments, emphasis goes to the acquisition of rolling stock (ten locomotives and 390 wagons), port equipment (two tugboats, one boat, two tractors), as well as the maintenance of rail and port infrastructure (dredging the Port of Beira access channel, improving the railway signalling system, rehabilitating bridges and railway stations, among others).

Investments made possible an increase in the level of production and rail traffic to around 16.8 million net tonnes in 2020, against the 19.4 foreseen in the strategic plan, corresponding to 87% fulfilment of targets.

“The 2020 fiscal year was characterised by a contraction in global and national economic activity, in particular, due to the effects of Covid-19, which impacted the reduction of rail traffic by 18% and port traffic by 9%; by the depreciation of the metical against the main transaction currencies; by natural disasters and cyclones that affected the railway and port infrastructure,” the company report details.

The CFM rail system transported around 16,791,000 net tonnes last year, against around 20,577,000 in 2019, representing a reduction of around 18 %, and a 72% achievement of planned levels.

According to CFM, the performance of the railway system was affected last year chiefly by the impact of Covid-19 at a global level, and particularly the “lockdown” in the main railway corridors in the south and centre of Southern Africa (South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe).

Source: Noticias