Page 8 - SABN AR 2021

Looking back on the year that was is now met with mixed emotions. At the same time last year, South Africa was faced with a Level 5 lockdown in terms of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002, which had literally brought the country to a standstill, except for essential services.
The past financial year has been a most unusual period for the SABN. I am certain it is a time we will not forget, and we will always remember those who we lost to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The SABN was locked down with no banknote production taking place from 27 March 2020 to 4 May 2020. Production resumed under stringent adherence to gazetted regulations, with the SABN responding exceptionally well and showing great care for its employees. Every practical step was instituted to avoid infections on the production floor. A total of 53 production days were lost in the financial year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the onset of the pandemic, the SABN has decisively dealt with COVID-19 prevention and challenges on an ongoing basis.
While being challenged with a different way of working, the SABN continued to function and produce banknotes as per the revised banknote order of 850 million from the SARB. As at 31 March 2021, a total of 974 million banknotes had been manufactured. A huge effort went into keeping the waste rate within acceptable levels. The earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to R153 million for the financial year ended 31 March 2021, which
is lower than the budget of R212 million, owing to the direct impact of COVID-19. The net income before tax amounted
to R84 million compared to a budget of R151 million. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to R716 million compared to a budget of R394 million.
Besides the COVID-19 response measures put
in place by management and reported on in more detail
in the Managing Director’s report, it is impressive to mention that recertification was received for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001: Quality Management and ISO 14001: Environmental Management. In addition, the SABN successfully transitioned from the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 to the ISO 45001:2018 occupational health and safety standard. The audit was done by new auditors, namely the British Standards Institution (BSI). A successful recertification audit for the new standard, ISO 22301: Business Continuity Management, was also achieved.
South African Bank Note Company (RF) Proprietary Limited
8
Annual Report 2021
Chairperson’s review