TO OUR
SHAREHOLDERS

A LETTER FROM
OUR CHAIRMAN

Dear Shareholder,

As we celebrate our 110th anniversary, I am delighted to say this year’s results certainly show our strength, resilience and capacity to reinvent ourselves. The financial year 2022 has seen strong growth for CIEL in terms of turnover and profit.

The last two years of pandemic-related issues coupled with the global economic challenges brought about by the Russia/Ukraine conflict have been very challenging to say the least. Despite these extreme conditions, we have managed to get back on our feet, proved our strength and are fully back in operation.

The Group faced these macroeconomic headwinds with a solid focus on delivering at every step of our operations. This would not have been possible without the relentless efforts of our teams working hard and living up to our Group’s values. Thanks to the excellent teams in place, we have been able to transform challenges into opportunities and they should all be warmly congratulated.

P. ARNAUD DALAIS
CHAIRMAN

Strategy

As a well diversified investment company we can now appreciate the well-thought-out strategy which has been ongoing over the years. Even though at times tough decisions had to be made, we have been able to unleash the growth potential in each of our clusters. Diversification, vertical integration, internationalisation, sustainability and finally, team spirit, are key for our future. This strategy has helped lead us to what can only be described as a solid recovery with all sectors returning to profitability.

Amongst the tough decisions we had to take was to close Consolidated Fabrics Ltd (CFL), our woven fabric mill at Solitude. We partnered with SOCOTA in Madagascar to create the largest fabric milling operation in our region. This, although a difficult step, was necessary, as the consolidation brought new capabilities and opened new avenues for the business to grow.

It is always sad to close a factory in Mauritius, but it was for the good of our textile activity and we ensured that all our employees at CFL have been well taken care of.

Such decisions, as well as the one to sell our hotel in Maldives last year or the exit of our healthcare business in Nigeria, will help us to move forward in a positive way and face the ongoing headwinds.

We are pleased that our Healthcare, Finance and more recently Properties clusters are showing good prospects for growth.

Performance

As you look through this report you will see how our clusters have shown commendable results despite the challenging context. We have overcome ongoing logistical issues and pandemic-related challenges in certain sectors as well as managed indirect impacts from the Russia/Ukraine conflict. In terms of performance, we are constantly growing market share, building on our strong foundations, whilst protecting our margins and seizing new growth opportunities.

The Textile cluster’s production and sales volumes are back to pre- COVID levels as they continue to strengthen their product offering and pipeline. The Finance cluster continued to perform well despite the difficult environment in Madagascar where we have our biggest banking interest, BNI Madagascar. CIEL Healthcare rebranded to C-Care (International) Ltd and continued to post gains as COVID treatments slowed and normal activities regained momentum. Our Hotels & Resorts cluster experienced a good turnaround, even though they were only operational for nine months of the financial year, with occupancy improving and average daily rates exceeding pre-COVID levels. In our Properties cluster we launched Evolis Properties Limited, a property vehicle that will consolidate CIEL Textile’s non-core industrial properties along with the Ebene Skies building (CIEL‘s Head Office). Moreover, Ferney Ltd has received its Smart City Certificate from the Economic Development Board and can now progress with the launch of the Ferney Sustainable Development Project. In our Agro cluster, the restructuring of Alteo Group into two distinct businesses is ongoing and we are very supportive of this move towards a more agile structure.

Based on these encouraging results, and our intention to return to pre-COVID dividend payment levels as soon as possible, the board declared a total dividend of MUR 0.21 for the financial year ended June 2022. We should allow ourselves a little time to stand back and recognise all the great work that has been done to create a lean organisation, optimise further our profitability whilst taking advantage of the constantly evolving global opportunities.

Celebrating 110 Years and Beyond

COVID undoubtedly was a big challenge, certainly the greatest of my tenure, but there have been many other challenges and crises before it too, and each time we managed to turn these difficult situations into new prospects for the Group.

We are proud of having accomplished significant growth over these last 110 years. Our past has demonstrated that we come together in the difficult times and surmount challenges with a true winning and innovative culture. We have our People at Heart, we aim for Excellence at our Core, and we make every effort to be Ethical in all we do with Sustainability as our guiding principle.

It is with that kind of spirit that we will make our future bright.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank our executive management and their teams for bringing our strategic objectives to life and with success. Also, our gratitude goes out to the authorities for their assistance and planning through this most challenging time, and to all our stakeholders who continued to have faith in us to make the right decisions.

Outlook

As we continue to build for the future, we remain vigilant of the very uncertain macroeconomic climate we are working within. We are planning with a sustainable mindset, and we will proactively develop responsible products and services and continue to operate in the right way.

We are confident that our constantly evolving strategy is well adapted to our times. We will continue developing our geographic footprint and sectoral diversification in the world’s fastest-growing markets.

TO OURSHAREHOLDERS

A LETTER FROMOUR CHAIRMAN