Strydom emphasised that any company is doomed should it not put its customers first. Kruger presented the 2019 financial statements to the shareholders and also confirmed that the company was finding itself in turbulent times. Chairman of the board, Danie Minnaar, confirmed the above by saying that one merely had to look at the performance of the rand this year to see this - it has been trading at between R13,23 and R15,49 against the American dollar over the past period of time. Strydom also mentioned that only 50% of our customers are farmers. The remaining 50% are role players in the rest of the food value chain. During the meeting Danie Minnaar, Steve Booysen and Tom van Rooyen were re-elected as directors. James Botha retired at the meeting and was not available for re-election. He was thanked for his valuable contribution and involvement with the board over the past nine years.
The meeting took note of the new acquisitions, which include the majority share in KLK Landbou in Upington and Staalmeester in Hartbeesfontein. Well-known market analyst, Anthony Clark, also attended the meeting. The future prospects and challenges were emphasised, which included the fact that the harvesting season was approximately eight weeks late, that the input channels remained under pressure, the dynamics in the market access business and the focus on appropriate capital allocation to capital projects and credit extension. All resolutions as presented to the shareholders were adopted with high voting percentages. The dividend of 30 cents per share was also confirmed, which will be paid on 29 August 2019.
After the Senwes meeting, the 2019 Senwesbel annual general meeting was held, with Dries Kruger as chairman. The Senwesbel shareholders also adopted all the proposed resolutions and the Senwesbel dividend of 21 cents per share will be paid on 30 August 2019.
The Senwes board held a meeting thereafter, during which three directors from the KLK board were appointed to the board of Senwes, namely Kobus Marais, Pieter Stander and Venete Klein.
Any queries regarding shareholder matters may be directed to Elmarie Joynt, Group Company Secretary at e-mail: elmarie.joynt@senwes.co.za.