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Despite the declining losses, the Group reported a two billion Birr drop in total asset value, while cash and cash equivalents on hand dwindled from four billion Birr to 1.5 billion.
An overdue audit report highlights the continued struggles of the state-owned Ethiopian Sugar Industry Group (ESIG) and more than a dozen of its sugar estates scattered across the country, as years of mismanagement and security issues sustain the Group’s poor financial performance and risk the fate of Ethiopia’s sugar production ambitions.
An audited financial report of the Group’s performance for the 2022-23 fiscal year was published this month, following more than two years of delays.
The state-run Audit Service Corporation reports the Group, which at the time was run by long-serving CEO Weyo Roba and chaired by Girma Birru, saw its revenues drop by more than 13 percent to 7.4 billion Birr year-on-year.
The Group’s comprehensive losses totaled 9.6 billion Birr during the reporting period, significantly lower than the 22 billion Birr registered the year prior but indicative of its ongoing troubles. Its forex losses also dropped by nearly 12 billion Birr to 3.6 billion Birr, while operating losses eased to 3.8 billion Birr from 15.7 billion.
However, despite the declining losses, the Group reported a two billion Birr drop in total asset value, while cash and cash equivalents on hand dwindled from four billion Birr to 1.5 billion.
The report outlines the dire financial status of the Group, which came into being in 2022 as part of a restructuring of the former Ethiopian Sugar Corporation that was established in 2010 in place of the Ethiopian Sugar Development Agency.
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ESIG disputed the claim, asserting the loss did not result from negligence or contractual breach. The Federal High Court ruled in favour of ESIG, however, Amibara appealed and the case is currently under review.
