CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
JB Magwaza
Chairman
OVERVIEW
I am pleased to present my statement as Chairman. Revenue and profits have grown significantly in the past year and very good progress has been made with many activities that contribute to the creation of value for all stakeholders of Tongaat Hulett, as detailed in this Integrated Annual Report.
DIVIDEND
The Board declared a final gross dividend of 170 cents per share. The final dividend, which together with the interim dividend of 120 cents per share, amounts to a total dividend of 290 cents per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2012.
SUSTAINABILITY
Tongaat Hulett’s corporate citizenship initiatives extend beyond its own operations to the wider communities across the six countries within which it operates. The company employs over 42 000 employees (including seasonal employees) working with its customers, suppliers, partners, shareholders and other stakeholders. The company values the diverse contribution of its stakeholders to the business. In Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the company is the largest private sector employer and seeks to share knowledge and expertise to promote sustainable and responsible economic development in the SADC region.
The safety of employees across all operations continues to be an area of high priority, with the company making every effort in recent years to improve on safety performance. Despite all continued efforts to ensure the highest standards of safety and occupational health, regrettably there were two fatalities recorded during the year under review, which the CEO expands upon in his report. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all affected families, friends and colleagues.
Tongaat Hulett continues on an exciting journey to advance renewable energy initiatives, not only within a South African context but from a regional perspective. The CEO’s review highlights in detail the significant progress made on this and other key strategic thrusts for the year to 31 March 2012.
As one of the region’s leading agriculture and agriprocessing businesses, Tongaat Hulett acknowledges that water is a key resource in its business. The company has a water policy and following its commitment last year, has become a signatory of the UN Global Impact CEO Water Mandate and will reflect on progress in the next report.
The Board is confident of the company’s ability to meet the many challenges and exciting opportunities in achieving its business sustainability objectives, given its clear strategic platform, sustainable agricultural and business practices and astute stakeholder engagement.
SUCCESSFUL RURAL LIVING
Tongaat Hulett believes that strong rural economies are the key to sustainable and productive agriculture. The challenge of achieving long-term food security rests to some extent with farmers. To this end, Tongaat Hulett, in collaboration with respective governments in its areas of operation, is committed to contributing to building rural prosperity, and through its expertise, makes continuous e orts to help address various challenges faced by farmers such as productivity and sustainability, cost efficiency and quality, and demand as dictated by resource constraints. Its strategy of creating successful rural communities is expanded upon in the CEO’s review and the Sustainability Report. The South African Government, in partnership with Tongaat Hulett, has committed R185 million until 2014 for comprehensive agricultural support, recapitalisation and development program and the planting of new cane and fertilizer inputs to communal lands.
BOARD AND GOVERNANCE
The Board, as the custodian of corporate governance, continues to maintain its commitment to principles of corporate discipline, ethical leadership, transparency, integrity and accountability. The Board confirms that it applies the principles embodied in King III and its recommendations as appropriate for the business, as can be seen in the corporate governance section of this integrated report. The company complies with the listing requirements of the JSE, the Companies Act 2008 and other pertinent legislation by which it is bound.
We were pleased to welcome Brand Pretorius who joined the Board as an independent non-executive director on 3 August 2011. Brand is a respected director of companies and brings with him a wealth of experience and insight to board deliberations.
Mac Mia, having served on the Tongaat Hulett Board since 1996, is due to retire by rotation with effect from the forthcoming annual general meeting on 27 July 2012 and will not be standing for re-election. On behalf of the Board, I thank Mac for the benefit of his experience and his contribution to the Board as a non-executive director, the Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees and a member of the Audit and Compliance Committee. I wish him success in his future endeavours.
APPRECIATION
Tongaat Hulett’s shareholder base includes many Southern African and international long-term value institutional investors, and the support that they provide to the business as it continues to deliver on its strategic objectives is appreciated.
I conclude by recording my appreciation to the Board for its continued support and wise counsel. The Board joins me in thanking Peter Staude, the executive directors and the executive team for their hard work in managing the business and positioning it for greater success in the future. Finally, I also wish to express our sincere appreciation to all our stakeholders for their continued commitment and dedication to Tongaat Hulett.
J B MAGWAZA
CHAIRMAN
Amanzimnyama
Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal
24 May 2012
