Agmark group records K8 million profit

The National Business

THE New Guinea Islands Produce (NGIP) Agmark group of companies recorded a profit before tax of K8 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2020.
It attributed its performance to:

  • POSITIVE cocoa contracts and effective engagement with cocoa farmers;
  • FREQUENT and reliable shipping trips and increased customer service to Bougainville resulting in market share growth as customers saw their goods being delivered in a more timely manner;
  • FOCUS on customer service and delivery in East New Britain stevedoring, road transport and customs clearance resulting in faster vessel turnarounds and greater market share;
  • SALE of non-performing assets resulting in a K2 million saving in operational costs and interest repayments.

A company statement said: “Focusing on these specific strategies for our divisions, we saw revenue increase to K163.4 million – an increase of K11.2 million from the 2019 revenue of K152 million.
“We also concentrated on cost reduction (which) led to decreasing cost of sales by K0.95 million and overhead costs by K1.6 million on 2019.
“While we made profit, the focus of 2020 had always been to reduce debt to offset loans and generate favourable savings. Therefore the majority of our cash flow had gone to offset the debt and losses of prior years.
“This means we could not provide a dividend in 2020.”
The company forecasts a dividend payment in 2021.
NGIP Agmark is a diversified agri-business operating plantations, coastal shipping, hardware, machinery, trucking, logistics, and stevedoring.
It is also a cocoa grower, trader and exporter based in Kokopo, East New Britain.