JOHANNESBURG - Long-serving Barloworld board member Neo Dongwana has been appointed as Barloworld's chairperson following her endorsement by shareholders at the annual general meeting - the first woman to chair the board in the company's 118 years of existence.
Outgoing chairperson of 12 years, advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza SC, said yesterday: “It has been an honour and privilege to have been a member of the Barloworld board for just over 20 years and chairperson for 12. During this time, I have seen the group weather many changes and challenging macro-economic dynamics.”
Dongwana has served on the Barloworld board since May 2012. After qualifying as a CA, Dongwana worked as an equity analyst at Gensec Asset Management. She currently serves as a non-executive director of Mpact and Nedbank. Prior to these appointments, she was an audit partner at Deloitte for almost 10 years.
Dongwana is also a member of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority Tribunal and a member of the African Women Chartered Accountants.
“I am honoured to be appointed the chairperson of the board of Barloworld, a company I’ve been proud to serve for more than eight years.”
Meanwhile, Barloworld said yesterday that group revenue for the three months to December 31 was lower than the prior year due to continued weak economic and trading conditions. Global concern over the corona virus outbreak was weighing on general sentiment, the group said in a trading statement.
Operating profit before black economic empowerment charges was lower, while the steady performance of the equipment divisions contributed positively to performance. The adoption of new accounting standards positively impacted the operating performance, but a higher interest charge resulted in a “net adverse impact on attributable income in line with our expectations,” the group said.
Currency movements also negatively impacted the fair value adjustments on financial instruments.
Overall sales were down due to lower machine sales in the rest of Africa, particularly in Mozambique, where the 2019 performance was bolstered by the delivery of the balance of a machine package deal. Aftermarket revenue ended higher.
Operating profit margins improved from last year driven by increased parts activity and cost containment. The firm order book remained strong. Barloworld’s joint venture in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo was down on the prior year, impacted by reduced mining activity and unfavourable cobalt prices.
Equipment Russia's first quarter revenues were in line with the prior year, while operating profit showed some improvement. This was driven mainly by strong mining sales. Automotive trading was down on the prior year. Avis Fleet’s operating performance was down against the prior year.
In logistics, non-renewal of contracts and increased fleet costs impacted results. Turnaround initiatives continued. The sale of the Middle East operation was close to conclusion, while the Smartmatta sale progressed.
Barloworld's share price closed 0.22percent lower at R99.76 on the JSE yesterday.