FY2026 Annual Report

The operating environment presented a mix of challenges and opportunities for the specialty retail and distribution businesses. Government initiatives and efforts to stabilize exchange rates in the last quarter of the financial year provided a supportive platform for volume growth. However, persistent foreign currency shortages and competition from informal markets required adaptive strategies to sustain growth and profitability. The ongoing shift towards a more informal economy has impacted demand for some of our FMCG products in the modern trade, as certain segments of the market are able to access those products in the informal market at lower prices regardless of quality. Nonetheless, the Group has been proactively addressing this challenge and is making significant strides in reclaiming market share.

The Group had a steady increase in the use of foreign currency across its businesses and reassessed its functional currency in accordance with the requirements of IAS 21. The Group concluded that based on the primary operating environment and the Group’s own operating activities, there had been a change in its functional currency from Zimbabwean Dollar (“ZWL”) to United States Dollars (“USD”) with effect from the beginning of the current financial year. IAS 21 directs that entities operating in hyperinflationary economies should translate their last reported inflation-adjusted financial statements using the closing rate of exchange at the reporting date in order to derive and present comparative financial statements under a newly assessed functional currency.