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Zimbabwe’s leading hospitality company Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) declared a dividend in its just-published first half of 2022 financial results. In his Chairman’s statement, the RTG Board Chairman Mr. Douglas Hoto said “On behalf of the Board of Directors I am pleased to advise shareholders that the Group has declared an interim dividend of ZW$380 million. A portion of this dividend (US$250,000) shall be payable in foreign currency. The dividend shall be payable on or before 31 October 2022”. RTG has continued to deliver value to its shareholders over the past seven years.
The Company closed the first half of 2022 with a profit margin of 18%, the best ever achieved by the Company in any first half of the year. Hoto highlighted that the Group had been recording month-by-month growth, in regional and international arrival at a faster rate than projected for 2022.
RTG grew its revenue by 246% in the first half of 2022 as reported in just published H1 2022 financial results. Hoto said, “The Group posted ZW$7.1 billion, 246% above ZW$2.1 billion posted during the same period in 2021”.
In an interview, RTG Chief Executive Tendai Madziwanyika highlighted that the growth in revenue was mainly driven by a strong performance by the hotels’ division where arrivals into the Group grew by 110% in H1 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. This was 18% above the national growth. This performance is reflected in the growth in occupancy for the Group which closed the first half of 2022 at 48%, representing a growth of 100% compared to the same period in 2021.
“The growth in occupancies is evidence that the Group’s volumes are now at the pre-pandemic level. The growth in volumes has been experienced across the Group’s business arms. The momentum recorded to date is anticipated to continue on the same trajectory into the rest of the year” he said.
He further reported that the Group’s digital platform the Gateway Stream proved to be a significant business driver positively impacting overall performance. “The Gateway Stream platform continues to enjoy growth in activities across its revenue channels, with the grocery channel being the main revenue driver. The tour operations arm of the business, Heritage Expeditions Africa (HExA) performance mirrored that of the hotel business over the past six months. The Company continues to enjoy growth in leisure and touring activities compared to the same period in 2021” he said.
The Group’s gross margin for the period under review closed at 72% closed 5 percentage points above 67% posted in the same period in 2021, this was despite the increasing pressure from inflation. The Group managed to achieve this performance mainly through its cost reduction initiatives and strategic pricing measures during the period under review.
Mr. Hoto reported that the Group posted an Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of ZW$1.8 billion (26%) during the period under review which was 300% above the ZW$470 million (23%) posted in 2021. “The Group’s statement of the financial position remains strong. The current ratio has remained relatively strong at 1.19 from 1,15 as at December 2021. The improvement is attributable to prudent cash flow management” he said.
In his outlook, Hoto highlighted that the Group was optimistic about the growth prospects as presented by the opportunities in the tourism industry largely driven by the domestic market and the returning regional and international market
