For the first time since 2016/17 arms manufacturer Denel has posted a profit before interest and tax of R390 million in the financial year ending March 31 2023. The entity, which has not produced financial statements since 2020 to date, is finally in the black after being hollowed out by corruption and fraud during the state capture years.
“We had to table a payment plan to the AG. We’ve started making payments to the AG and since then, the AG has commenced with the audits. We’ve submitted financials for the March 2023 year-end. The expectation is that they will audit these concurrently. We are waiting for the final date when all those audits would be completed at which date we will be able to table both the outstanding annual reports and the annual report for 2023.
Going forward, we’ll be focusing on the growth path of the business, where we are focusing on the opportunity pipeline that we have developed over time to focus on the export revenue opportunities that are there. We are also focusing on stabilising the orders that we have and ensuring that, as part of the implementation, we execute the orders as we have in the contracts.