Inqo Investments Ltd - Group Results for the year ended 28 February 2021

Inqo Investments Limited

Group Results for the year ended 28 February 2021

Inqo Investments Limited ("Inqo" or "the Group") is a South African based social impact company that acquires and invests in businesses that tackle poverty and the social needs of low-income earners in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Group remains in a good financial position with total assets of R160,744,661 and minimal debt.

Subsequent to the financial year end, additional cash of R7,766,861 was generated through the finalisation of the disposal of a portion of the property to SANParks as well as an issue of 155 146 ordinary shares.  These additional funds will be used by the company to continue to support its subsidiaries and investments during this difficult period as they navigate their operations through the pandemic.  Therefore, despite the challenges beings faced, the directors of the Company have assessed that it will continue as a going concern.

The results for the year under review showed revenue of R4,214,583 (February 2020: R24,422,881) but a loss after tax of R12,700,841 (February 2020 a loss of R4,788,716).  The loss for the period is reported after accounting for the following operating costs:

Like businesses around the world, the Group has been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.  The result of this pandemic has been that all the businesses in the Group have reported reduced earnings and are taking extensive steps to reduce operating costs to the absolute minimum while the businesses operate in a holding mode as the world waits to see how the Covid-19 pandemic plays out.

The directors of the holding company have reviewed the valuation placed on all income earning assets to ensure that they reflect their fair value.  This review was done at 28 February 2021 and having conducted the review, the directors are of the view that the Group's assets are reflected at fair value.  In the process of carrying out this review it was decided that the following value adjustments should be processed.

·    The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the Kuzuko operation to cease operating at various stages since March 2020.  The impact of this is that monies owed to Inqo by Kuzuko Lodge were not able to be paid as agreed and thus it has been decided to make a provision for doubtful debts of R1,236,813 against the total amount due of R2,473,626.

·    The only non-South African based company where Inqo held investments at 28 February 2021 that required to be looked at from a value adjustment perspective was Four One Financial Services Limited.

This company has struggled financially but managed to keep afloat but, in the process, has defaulted on loan and interest repayments.  The consequence of this is that the full capital amount of one of the loans with a value of R157,473 has been impaired and a provision for doubtful debts raised against the amount of interest owing of R370,134 at 28 February 2021.

The property owned by the company has not escaped the impact of Global Warming and like so many other properties in the Eastern Cape in South Africa suffered from particularly low levels of rainfall over the last three years.  This lack of rainfall has had a significant impact on Inqo's property.  A further impact of the drought and Covid-19 is that game prices have fallen and as a result Inqo has had to impair the value of the buffalo herd by R194,172 and process a downward fair value adjustment for the rest of the game on the property of R372,151.

The land and buildings are in terms of Inqo's accounting policies required to be revalued every two years by an independent valuer.  A valuation was required to be done this year and was carried out in April 2021.  The negative effect of the drought and the Covid-19 pandemic have affected land and building values and as a result the value of land and buildings had to be written down by R1,465,423.

Kuzuko Lodge (South Africa)

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kuzuko was performing well with strong bookings in place for the following year. Unfortunately, the tourism sector globally has been one of the hardest hit and Kuzuko was no exception.

In order to comply with South Africa's lockdown rules, the lodge has largely been closed since April 2020 trading intermittently as allowed by lockdown regulations between August 2020 and April 2021.  One of the major downsides to the Covid-19 pandemic is the fact that in South Africa the tourism industry has been hard hit and as a result 35 staff have had to be retrenched.

The lodge is currently closed with a small group of essential workers retained on the property to maintain the integrity of the groups' investment at Kuzuko Lodge.  At this time the future of the South African tourism industry is uncertain.  The lodge has received a reasonable level of advance bookings and thus it has been decided to reopen the lodge for guests on 1 September 2021.  This has been agreed by Kuzuko directors and Legacy Hotels, the management company.

Spekboom Trading (South Africa)

The company has to date replanted some 500 acres of degraded land with spekboom, an indigenous shrub that naturally sequesters exceptionally high levels of carbon, creating 100 job opportunities in the process.

The spekboom thicket restoration at Kuzuko is planned to restart once the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has passed and restoration work can commence.  A memorandum of understanding is being negotiated with a leading carbon fund to restore 12 500 acres of spekboom on the Kuzuko property in order to generate carbon credits.

There has recently been a renewed interest in the carbon markets in response to the growing global awareness of the impact of climate change with nature-based solutions, such as spekboom, being a high priority.  Inqo anticipates scaling up spekboom restoration activities once the Covid-19 pandemic situation has been resolved, which will provide valuable employment opportunities as well as positive environmental benefits.

A small-scale trial planting exercise is currently underway to test a variety of planting methods.  Once these trials are complete the next step is to undertake large-scale trials over 40 hectares to refine the cost model of the investment.  This will take place as soon as it is feasible (in the context of Covid-19 lockdowns) to run the trials.

Bee Sweet Honey (Zambia)

Bee Sweet Honey have had a challenging year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. After the good news of excellent honey yields in 2019, Bee Sweet struggled to find buyers for their honey in their key US market due to the difficult market conditions.  Bee Sweet were however able to find sales to fund the purchase of honey for the harvest in Q4 2020 and currently have a good inventory of honey.  The company has experienced increased competition in the Zambian honey sector and some additional regulatory challenges with new requirements imposed for selling into the South African market. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the management team are positive about the prospects in 2021.

Bee Sweet was able to fully repay the short-term loan provided by Inqo of $50,000 in June 2021 to support their day-to-day operations.

The Bee Sweet operation currently has 85 512 bee hives in the field with 10,000 farmers in its programme.  Inqo has invested in the income that will accrue from 14 150 hives and receives a return on investment as a profit share on the yield produced by these hives.

The hives are harvested twice a year, generally in May and November. 

Inqo earned R78,262 as its share of revenue in the period ended 28 February 2021 (2020:  R260,423).

Four One Financial Services Limited (Uganda)

Inqo made an initial investment in 2017 and a further investment in 2018 in Four One Financial Services Limited, a Ugandan based company that provides micro-pension, savings and short-term loan products to the informal sector.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic Four One was performing well having endured challenging operating conditions for the previous 18 months.  The impact of the lockdown and subsequent economic downturn is likely to be severe in Uganda and so for Four One.  The senior management team have a strong track record in navigating a difficult business environment through lean operations and have developed an agile response to market demands.

In Q3 2020, Four One Financial Services began Bitbricks Limited - a new venture developing affordable homes whilst offering ownership through shares to offer an accessible entry point to the real estate market for middle class Ugandans. This new venture will leverage the network of customers and good faith Four One has built over the last few years.

Inqo earned interest on its investment in the Four One Financial Services operation of R282,325 in the year ended 28 February 2021 (2020: R230,236).

South Lake Medical Centre - SLMC (Kenya)

SLMC is a private healthcare provider in the Naivasha region of Kenya serving predominantly low-income flower farm workers. SLMC operate a 'hub and spoke' model around a 27-bed private referral-level hospital with smaller satellite clinics based on surrounding flower farms and in nearby population centres.  Inqo invested in SLMC in the current 2019/20 year.

This hospital receives around 64,000 patient visits per annum with the capacity to treat three times this number. Currently, SLMC offers a range of in and outpatient services including consultations, laboratory testing, radiology and pharmacy services. Following this investment, SLMC will be expanded to include a surgical unit making it the most advanced hospital at the southern end of Lake Naivasha.  The Naivasha region in Kenya is predominantly populated by low-income workers working in the horticultural, agricultural and tourism industries.

With the challenges of the pandemic compounded with registration issues with the Kenyan National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), 2020 was a challenging year for SLMC. Revenues fell significantly below forecast and the pandemic also delayed planned work to the hospital. The board anticipated a potential cash flow issue at an early stage of the pandemic and began looking for solutions. SLMC entered into discussions with the Vitol Foundation and in February 2021, SLMC received a loan from the Vitol Foundation at a concessionary rate that matched the terms of previous investors. With the additional capital and a temporary pay cut taken by staff, SLMC has been able to complete works on a satellite clinic in the nearby settlement of Karagita and the new major surgery unit.

The SLMC management team navigated a challenging year commendably and the prospects for the business continue to improve. Revenues have returned to pre-pandemic levels and are on track to continue growing as forecast.

Inqo earned interest of R90,998 on its investment in SLMC in the year ended 28 February 2021
(2020:  R48,340).

Kentegra Biotechnology Limited (Kenya)

Kentegra is a Kenyan based biotechnology firm owned by the US holding company, Kentegra Biotechnology Holdings LLC.  Kentegra produces pyrethrum, a natural active ingredient from the chrysanthemum flower, for the use in biocide, agricultural and pharmaceutical pesticide markets.  The chrysanthemum flowers must be grown in specific conditions in order to produce pyrethrum - these conditions are found only in a few places around the world, predominantly East Africa (Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya) and Australia.  With ideal growing conditions, Kenya was once the largest producer of pyrethrum in the world until management issues and synthetic alternatives led to a major decline in the nationalised industry in the early 2000s.  In 2013 the Kenyan government liberalised the pyrethrum sector in a concerted effort to revive the industry and support the growing worldwide "organic" movement.  Kentegra is one of the six companies in Kenya with a licence to produce pyrethrum.

Kentegra was able to operate according to plan as a government 'essential' industry during the pandemic.   They have installed a new factory that is now in production.  Kentegra has shown a strong commitment to both their smallholder farmer partners and their employees during this time, going above and beyond to minimise the economic impact while ensuring safety for the organisation. The company has seen a growing demand for organic pyrethrum that is now larger than its capacity and anticipate significant increase in sales for 2021.

Sanergy Incorporated

Sanergy is a Nairobi based firm recycling sanitation and organic waste into high protein animal feed, fertilizer and biomass briquettes using an innovative circular economy approach.  Sanergy currently recycles 12,000 tons of organic waste per year.

We closed our investment into Sanergy Inc in October 2020. When the pandemic struck, Sanergy were in the process of raising funds for a Series B investment round with a proportion of the funding already secured from Novastar Ventures. The challenges of conducting due diligence in a pandemic meant the funding round was paused and Sanergy sought additional investors for a bridging round. Investment timing was critical as Sanergy were in the process of completing their first major factory in Nairobi and required funds to finish the build. Following the closing of the bridge round in October 2020, Sanergy were able to find additional funding for their Series B and our convertible loan note converted to equity in November 2020.

Since investment, Sanergy have completed and opened their new factory. At full capacity, the factory is capable of processing 72,000 tons of organic waste per annum. Waste collection has remained slightly unpredictable throughout the pandemic - the hospitality industry is a major source of organic waste for Sanergy and a combination of lockdowns, travel restrictions and slow economic growth have meant that supply is hard to predict. Although Sanergy's product has been well received, sales have been similarly inconsistent in Q1 and Q2 2021, exacerbated by some minor production issues. Sanergy continue to take a methodical approach to refining their methodology on a larger scale and remain optimistic for the remainder of the year.

Aquis Exchange PLC (AIM:AQX) acquired the NEX Exchange in March 2020, which has now been renamed The Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE).  Shares on AQSE will remain exempt from Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax as they were on the NEX Exchange.

Kuzuko Private Game Reserve - The Lodge saw high occupancy rates before the Covid-19 pandemic. Once international tourism re-commences, we are confident that Kuzuko will make a good recovery although it will take time for confidence to return to the tourism industry in South Africa.  A decision has been made to reopen the lodge for guests on 1 September 2021.  The guests currently booking into the lodge are South African residents.  It is not expected that the lodge will benefit from bookings from overseas travellers until the second half of 2022.

Bee Sweet Honey - The market in which Bee Sweet is currently operating is very challenging but management is making headway on both the production and sales fronts.  The company is facing increasing competition in the Zambian honey sector and some regulatory challenges.  In spite of this the company has managed to sell the large portion of the 400 tons of honey that the company had in stock at 31 August 2020.  The proceeds from the sales have eased the company's cash flow position to the extent that Bee Sweet paid all the costs of harvesting the May 2021 crop, which is the first time that the company has had the cash resources to do this.  The company's production facilities have been upgraded through the internal promotion of a senior employee to General Manager.  The General Manager will be responsible for the management of both production and field work.  The crop of honey harvested in May this year was smaller than in 2019 but the quality of the stock has remained excellent.

Spekboom Trading - The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that re-planting activity had to cease. However, discussions have been on-going with a number of environment focussed investment funds to start re-planting of spekboom when lockdown is relaxed

Four One Financial Services - This business has been especially hard hit because it serves the informal sector in Uganda with savings and short-term loans products. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the informal sector to a complete standstill with many traders going out of business. We are pessimistic about the outlook given the overall economic impact of the pandemic in Uganda.

South Lake Medical Centre - As an essential service, SLMC has been able to continue trading though footfall to the hospital declined with patients hesitant about attending the hospital for treatment due to fear of being infected with Covid-19.  The directors are confident, as the demand for flowers and vegetables have increased, leading to re-hiring of farm workers and the upgrading of the hospital's facilities that patient visits should again start to grow.

Kentegra Biotechnology - As an Agri business, Kentegra was deemed an essential service by the Kenyan government and has been able to continue operations during the lockdown. During this period, the company has on-boarded a significant number of new out-grower farmers as well as installed and commissioned their new factory and made their first export sale.

Sanergy Incorporated - The company is receiving strong demand for its product and is confident that this start-up operation will expand as budgeted in spite of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Africa.

·      39 000 acres of former farmland restored as a game reserve in a region of endemic poverty in the poorest province   in South Africa

·      Increased VAT and income tax paid by Kuzuko year on year, currently 12 fulltime staff employed.

·      All staff living at Kuzuko in standard housing with flush toilets, power, water and solar panels.

·      Conservation of 3 endangered species.

·     Re-wild, bred and released 6 cheetahs with new genetics into the metapopulation in South Africa, with a further 4   cheetahs still to be released.

·      Reforestation of 500 acres of degraded land with spekboom providing work for 100 part time staff and sequestering   carbon

·      85 512 beehives in the field with positive impact on bee populations and retention of forests

·      2 100+ voluntary low-income savers in micro-pension and loan schemes

·      73 124 patient visits between January and December 2020 including 121 safe deliveries, 324 HIV patients receiving   care and counselling, 1 204 infants immunised, 468 mothers receiving antenatal care and 8 275 people receiving   health education, including Covid-19 education, through community outreach in Kenya

·      Increased the economic livelihoods of over 17 000 farmers and their families in Zambia and Kenya

The directors would like to take this opportunity to thank all the operating staff in the Group for their contribution and commitment to the Group's objectives during this challenging time.

The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute statutory financial statements. This financial information has been extracted from Inqo's audited group financial statements for the period ended 28 February 2021.

A copy of these audited financial statements will be available on the company's website from 10 August 2021.

The company has not declared a dividend the year ended 28 February 2021.

K.S Tan                                                                                              C.J Bertie

Chairman                                                                                       Chief Financial Officer

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Inqo Investments Limited Group

Condensed consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

For the year ended 28 February 2021

Inqo Investments Limited Group

Condensed consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

For the year ended 28 February 2021

Inqo Investments Limited Group

Statements of cash flows

For the year ended 28 February 2021