The largest conglomerate in the country, Press Corporation Plc – one of the country’s Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed companies – says it is expecting that its 2021 profit after tax will be higher than the previous corresponding period by 50 percent.
However, the Company Secretary Benard Ndau, in a statement issued on 14th December 2021, said the information on which the trading statement is based has not yet been reviewed for reporting by Press Corporation Plc auditors.
Ndau adds that the company’s financial statements for the period will be published in the press in April 2022 following their review and approval by the Board of Directors at its next meeting.
As a listed company, Press Corporation Plc is required to publish a trading statement as soon as there is a reasonable degree of certainty that the financial results for the period to be reported upon next will differ by at least 20 percent from that of the previous corresponding period.
Press Corporation Limited is the largest conglomerate in Malawi, and has ownership in 15 companies in Malawi, including eight subsidiaries, four joint ventures and one associate company.
The company was founded in 1961, as Malawi Press Limited Malawi, a publishing Company. The company expanded rapidly, and by 1979 it had stakes in 17 subsidiary companies and 23 associated companies.
The rapid expansion however, had been funded by excessive short-term borrowing and soon faced a financial crisis.
In 1983 company was restructured on the orders of the then President of the country, Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
After discussions with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and the new company, Press Group Limited, was incorporated on 27 February 1984 in Blantyre as a holding company.
Press Group Limited, is in turn owned by Press Trust, a sovereign charitable organization in Malawi, incorporated it on 5 March 1982.