Border Timbers earns $5.3 billion in exchange gain

The devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar in February, which saw the Zimbabwe dollar drop from $55 to $800 to the greenback, earned Border Timbers an exchange gain of $5.3 billion.

According to the company’s report for the year ending June, it also saw profit before tax increase 20-fold from $321.2 million to $6.6 billion. Its tax soared equally from $82.2 million to $1.7 billion.

Turnover increased from $2.6 billion to $9.3 billion. Net profit soared from $398.3 million to $5.4 billion.

The company says rainfall for most of the estates was above normal but the estates planting programme fell short of targets.

The company is still reeling from the effects of a fire that was started by an illegal settler in October last year. The fire destroyed 395 hectares of forest.

The company which had been complaining about the menace caused by baboons said it had received permission from the Forest Stewardship Commission to control baboons with World Health Organisation-listed substances for a period of two years starting January 2003.

Border said it was trying to find ways to fully utilise its sawmills because its estates did not have enough volumes to match their capacity.

The company said it had been forced to reduce the price of its doors to the United States despite the fact that they were of a superior quality.

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