Meikles Regulatory News (MIK)

MEIKLES LD - Interim Management Statement

PR Newswire

London, February 14

MEIKLES LIMITED

INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT RELEASED ON 18 FEBRUARY 2013

This Interim Management Statement is issued by Meikles Limited in accordancewith the UK Listing Authority's

Disclosure and Transparency Rules. Unless stated otherwise, key trends andfigures highlighted below refer

to the nine months ended 31 December 2012 and the corresponding period in theprevious year.

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS

The Group has continued to perform well from the time the interim results werereleased. This is despite the challenges of the operating environment stillcharacterized by low liquidity and to some extent low business confidence.Group revenues for the nine months ended 31 December 2012 increased by 16%compared to the prior period driven by increased volumes and margins. Groupcosts only show an increase of 3% over the same period and resultantly,operating profit is showing a significant increase compared to that achieved inthe prior year.

As reported in the interim Chairman's statement dated 21 November 2012, theGroup is pursuing opportunities in the mining sector and has made the necessaryapplications to the regulatory authorities. Stakeholders will be updated oncethere are new developments on this initiative.

TM Supermarkets has upgraded the Westgate branch and rebranded it into a Pick nPay store, bringing the number of Pick n Pay branded stores to two in thecountry. In addition, one of the Chinhoyi branches was also refurbished andthis has continued to operate as a TM branded store. New refrigeration and aircondition units were installed at the flagship Borrowdale branch, while therefurbishment works at the Hwange branch are nearing completion. TM has seenincreased volumes and margins from the refurbished branches. The branchrefurbishment programme is an on-going exercise as we seek to improve ouroffering at all branches that we operate from.

The refurbishment programme at Meikles Hotel is nearing completion and weexpect the new rooms to be available to our guests before the end of ourfinancial year. Procurement of materials to refurbishment the Victoria FallsHotel has started and is in progress. It is anticipated that phase one of therenovations targeting approximately 44 rooms and public areas at the VictoriaFalls Hotel will be completed at the end of July 2013 and in time for the UNWTOconference. Phase two to complete the remaining rooms will commence after theUNWTO conference.

The departmental stores' performance which has not measured up to expectations,reflect the challenges in the operating environment. The revenues have notgrown while credit has been deliberately curtailed pending improvement in theeconomy.

Plantation development on the Tanganda Tea Estates is being advanced. To date187 hectares of avocadoes, 457 hectares of macadamias and 125 hectares ofcoffee have been planted. The global tea prices have gone up in the past monthsand this augurs well for tea revenues. Despite a late start to the rainyseason, good rains have been received through January 2013 to date and wetherefore expect tea production to increase in the coming months.

We remain optimistic and positive about the outlook in most of our businesses.Our performance in the financial year ending 31 March 2013 is expected to showmuch improvement from the outturn of the previous financial year.

1. The financial information on which this statement is based has not beenreviewed and reported on by the Group's auditors.

2. Please note that matters highlighted above may contain forward lookingstatements which are subject to various risks and uncertainties and otherfactors, including, but not limited to:

• A number of these factors are beyond the Group's control.

• These factors may cause the group's actual future results, performance orachievements to differ from those expressed or implied.

• Any forward looking statements made are based on the knowledge of the Groupas at 18 February 2013.