Zimbabwe | ZSE

Projected national GDP growth for 2024 has been weighed down by the anticipated impact of the El-Nino phenomenon on the agricultural sector. Agriculture is anticipated to decline by 4.9%, dragging overall GDP growth down to 3.5%. Falling international commodity prices will also go into dampening growth prospects for the resource- intensive country with a 1% shock in global prices expected to affect exports by between 0.55% and 0.7% as per the MoFED.

Looking ahead to the current year, Zimbabwe's economy is anticipated to experience a mild recovery, driven by a favorable agricultural season, increased investments in key sectors, and a rebound in commodity prices that will enhance mining revenues. On the demand side, private consumption growth, which had slowed down from 4.8% in 2023 to 2.5% in 2024, is expected to have a rosier year with household spending rebounding by 6.6% in 2025.

May marked the first full month of monetization of the ZiG currency. ZiG inflation registered at -2.4% from April, with the top mover, the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco segment, deflating 6.1% month-on-month.

The operating environment in the year under review saw sustained depreciation of the ZWL and slower economic growth. In the first half of the year, First Capital Bank (FCB) completed its migration to the dollar-denominated bourse, Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, paving way for the bank to adopt the United States Dollar as its functional reporting currency.

The operating environment remained challenging, with the Group experiencing unprecedented cost pressures as operating costs maintained an upward trend in US$ terms. Regardless, Dallaglio remained one of the top three gold producers in the country. Gold sales for the period stood at 2,120kg versus 1,961kg recorded in FY22.

The year ended 31 December 2023 saw gold production at Blanket Mine register a 7.1% decrease y/y to 75,416 ounces. Tonnes milled saw a 2.4% increase to 770,440tn, however, this was offset by a lower average grade and gold recovery rate. The fourth quarter of 2022 saw the commencement of work at Caledonia’s second asset, Bilboes, with operations centred on mining and processing oxides. The oxides project yielded 3,050oz of gold at an average grade of 1.13g/t in the period under review.