PBC re-positions itself to reverse losses

Accra, Feb. 9, GNA - Produce Buying Company (PBC) Limited on Friday said despite recording a net loss of 12.614 billion cedis for the 2005/2006 financial year, it has repositioned itself to improve operational efficiency to ensure quick turnaround.

The company made a huge net loss of 31 billion cedis the previous year as a result of various industrial problems such the grading and sealing of the cocoa beans and the shortage of jute sacks mainly supplied by the Ghana Cocoa Board.

Appearing on the "Facts Behind Figures" at the Ghana Stock Exchange, Mr Anthony Osei Boakye, Managing Director of the company, said the spillover effect of the challenges in 2004/05 year adversely affected the financial performance for the year under review. He said at present, the operational problems experienced over the past two years had partially abated due to effective support it enjoyed from the Ghana Cocoa Board, noting that pragmatic measures has been put in place to turn the tide.

Mr Boakye said new approach to cocoa purchasing had been adopted with the aim to reduce shortages and also to make the districts and regions more manageable.

He said with an all-time record figure of 740,548 tonnes of cocoa production for the 2005/06-crop year, PBC recorded a slight increase of cocoa purchased by eight per cent from 225,358 tonnes of the previous year to 242,473 tonnes in year under review. Mr Boakye said the company's market share for the year stood at 33 per cent and it managed to maintain a share price of 2,800 cedis till the end of the period.

He said despite the financial predicaments, PBC had kept faith with its loyal farmers' organizations for the past six years. Providing further details of the company's activities, Mr Joseph Osei Manu, Deputy Managing Director, said turnover increased from 2.304 trillion cedis in 2004/05 to 2.486 trillion cedis in 2005/06, an increase of 7.9 per cent, due to increase in volume of cocoa delivered. Cost of sales, he said, increased by 7.1 per cent from 2.077 trillion cedis to 2.225 trillion cedis also due to increase in volumes delivered.

Mr Manu said total expenses increased by 4.7 per cent from 277.350 billion cedis to 290.350 billion cedis.

Mr Kofi Yamoah, the Managing Director of the Exchange, was optimistic that a lot of goodwill existed for the company and therefore urged the company not relent in raising more capital from the market. He said there are many instruments on the GSE such the equity, preference shares for companies to take advantage of. 9 Feb. 07