By Benadetta Chiwanda Mia:
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) registered a mixed performance in the 2023- 24 financial year, characterised by liquidity struggles, losses, affected operations, the latest Government Annual Report shows.
The report indicates that some SOEs registered a good performance, from loss-making to profit-making status, with some remitting dividends to the government.
The energy sector saw some gains as Energy Generation Company (Egenco) rebounded from a net loss of K2.1 billion in 2022-23 to a profit of K2.2 billion in 2023.
As of September 30, the company posted a net profit of K7.2 billion, substantially exceeding the approved budget of K231 million.
However, liquidity remains a concern, with debt collection periods exceeding the contractual 30-day target.
During the period under review, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) registered a surplus of K1.4 billion, compared to the K2.1 billion surplus recorded in the 2023-24 financial year, with a projected surplus of K2.6 billion for the year ending March 31 2025.
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority reported a surplus of K7.1 billion as at September 30 2024 and anticipates a surplus of K13.3 billion by the end of March 2025.
On the other hand, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) recorded a surplus of K85.6 million, with a projected profit of K47.3 million by March 2025.
On transport and infrastructure, Airport Development Limited (ADL) remained profitable, recording a surplus of K13.3 billion in 2023-24 FY, thanks to increased revenue from investment properties. As of September 30 2024, ADL registered a profit of K4.4 billion and projected a profit of K13.28 billion by March 31 2025.
Conversely, Lilongwe Handling Company (Lihaco) saw a slight improvement but continued to struggle, with currency depreciation affecting its revenue from a loss of K61 million to a profit of K634.7 million in 2024, which is primarily generated in US dollars.
As at mid-year, the company registered a profit of K384.4 million and projects to make a profit of K348.8 million as at March 2025.
National Economic Empowerment Fund (Neef) posted a turnaround, with a projected profit of K9.3 billion by March 2025.
Malawi Bureau of Standards saw a surplus of K4.5 billion but expects this to decline due to rising operational costs.
However, the Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority suffered a decline in performance, with a mid-year deficit of K471 million due to compliance issues in pharmaceutical licensing.
The water boards faced rising losses, with Blantyre Water Board (BWB) registering a loss of K33.6 billion in 2023-2024, primarily due to delays in tariff adjustments and inflationary pressures.
Central Region Water Board saw profits declining by 95 percent due to dwindling water sources and high numbers of disconnected accounts.
Comptroller of Statutory Corporation Peter Sambani attributed the positive performance by some SOEs to the turnaround strategies being implemented by the enterprises.
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