Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Awendo Town.
The Awendo-based SONY SUGAR company has announced a 246 per cent increase in its pre-tax profits.
The company also announced that it has through its technicians has started producing power produsing biogas a by-product of sugar cane, but currently for its own use while discussion between the firm and the Kenya Power and Lightning Company is going on so that it could product more electric power and connect it to the national grid.
The company managing director Paul Odolla is currently involved in negotiation with the power producing and power distributing firms to see if we could produce more power and have it connected to the national grid, but for now we do produce very little, mainly or our own consumption.
Odolla said the company growth saw the company’s profit rise from Kshs 242 million last year to Kshs 595 for the last year ended Jun 30.
He said during the year under review, the company’s sale revenue grew by 43.1 to stand at Kshs 5.8 billion up from Khs 34.1 billion the previous year.
“This shows that our company is very resilient in its operations despite the challenges facing the sugar industry globally.”
Odolla disclosed that during the same period some 725,827 tones of raw cane was crushed. compared to 558,õ tones the previous financial year representing a 30.1 per cent increase .As a result, a total of 74,794 tones of made sugar was produced during the year compared 51,189 produced during the same period last year.
The Managing Director attributed the improve production to efficiency, total commitment by workers, cane farmers and all the stakeholders brought about by a heavy investment in the factory and improved cane quality..
Odolla said the company’s balance sheet has grown from Kshs 3.8 billion last yea to Kshs 5.8 billion this year leading to an improvement of net working capital from deficit Kshs 382 million last year to a surplus of Kshs 249 million in the last financial year.
SONY Sugar, which is the second largest sugar miller in the country attributes its growth to a sustained demand for sugar and molasses, increase sales of branded sugar and better pricing management which also resulted into an improve operating profit that rose from Ksh 280 million to Kshs 738 million.
“SONY-Sugar has crossed the technical insolvency line from where it has been operating for many year”,declared Odolla.
The Manager, however, said he was recently disappointed when he heard that a group of non-entities ha called for demonstration street protest in Awendo Town against the company recently increased of cane prices from Khs 3,200 per tone and Kshs 3,500 per tone, allegedly without consulting the so-called stakeholders.
The Awendo based firm has contracted close to 27,000 cane famers in its cane growing zones which spread widely into several administrative districts in he greater Southern Nyanza, These included Rongo, Awendo, Gucha, Homa-Bay, Migori,Kuria, Ndhiwa and Trans-Mara.
It has similar number of the out growers farmer in those districts, and its is the largest employing outlet in the region with close to 2400 labor force, making the government-owned facility to an important and integral part of the socio-economic of the region.
ends