In the healthcare cluster, we have recently rebranded to C-Care (International) Limited. We are back to more normal activities post COVID and with a better footprint in both Mauritius and Uganda, we are perfecting the correct business model to expand into developing markets.

It has also been a year of reorganisation and recovery for our hospitality cluster, a difficult time, but a period used to shape our business for the better. We are now coming out stronger and with a refocused lean business and energised team. We are revamping and repositioning the brand which I am confident will be a great success.

On the property front, we are again growing. We launched Evolis Properties Limited this year to make the most of all the non-core property assets in the Group and give them a renewed commercial life. We have a strong focus on optimising our hotel assets with further expansion in the pipeline.

Finally, as a shareholder of Alteo, we are fully supportive of the restructuring currently underway and we look forward to more progress as they find ways to better manage and generate value from the various regions.

Overall, we are getting better at what we do in all the clusters and continue to grow. Our key focus remains to consistently improve customer satisfaction and experience.

Our well diversified portfolio and strong ongoing focus on margin protection has been bearing fruit. I am pleased to see a good performance across the board including an improved profitability which is significantly above pre-COVID years. We have excellent teams managing our businesses and we believe our business models are relevant and will prove, year on year, their medium to long-term growth potential.

With our proven track record of execution, profit after tax reached MUR 2.2 bn with all clusters now back to profitability. Earnings per share more than doubled to reach MUR 0.77 (2021: MUR 0.37). The figures show the financial health and strong base on which we are looking at growing the business.

Each cluster has its own investment strategy supported and reviewed by the Group. We strongly believe in the spirit of entrepreneurship for our leaders and teams. The head office has an oversight role whilst being lean and ensures that there is the appropriate good governance across the Group. We have developed specialised services for the clusters at the head office, like the newly created Corporate & Regulatory Affairs function as well as the Diversity & Inclusion and ESG areas in HR. This structure supports our clusters’ collaboration or cross-pollination in terms of talent and data analysis, for instance. We also encourage as a Group, talent mobility across clusters and geographies

We have just emerged from one of the most difficult times in our history. Few anticipated how fast and deeply it would affect our people and many areas of the businesses in which we operate. The business environment in which we live today does not stay the same for very long. That said, a focus on always having the best talent and ensuring targeted delivery of our priorities has proven to be the right way forward for us. The global rise in inflation and the geopolitical tensions will likely influence the purchasing patterns of our customers. We, however, are well spread across two continents and ten countries, whilst being in six very different clusters. This is one of our major strengths. We will continue to grow cautiously, through our proof-of-concept approach. Our ability to mobilise resources and be agile in the current prevailing environment will also be a key competitive advantage.

Our Group is 110 years old this year, I am proud of our history, and I can feel a renewed motivation within our teams, striving to constantly improve performance. I would like to thank all those who throughout the years have contributed to make CIEL what it is today. What an incredible story!

Today CIEL has a strong presence in Africa and Asia where the highest population growth between now and 2050 will take place. Exciting prospects lie ahead as we tap into the potential of our regions and sectors. For us to achieve growth, we need the best talent, and we are focusing on ensuring we have diversity and the correct gender balance throughout the teams.

We look to the future with a lot of belief, knowing our capabilities and past experiences. We are ready to keep on growing to GO BEYOND!