Cocoa Processing Company Plc is in discussion with Afreximbank and BADEA, an international financial institution based in Sudan, to raise $86.7 million, Managing Director, Nana AgyenimBoateng I, has said.

He said part of the loan would be used as working capital, while the remaining would be used to retool the company.

Speaking at the company’ annual general meeting for the 2019/2020 financial year,  Nana AgyenimBoateng I,  said the company in the period under review had serious setback in profitability and growth as a result of inconsistent bean supply and challenges in the performance of the company’s plant and machinery.

“It is hoped that our efforts at securing the much-needed injection of funds will crytalised in the 2021/2022 financial year. The future of your company looks bright because we believe that the funding support being pursued would be realised and thus commence the expansion and retooling of machinery to optimise production and set us on our track to commence payment of our debts,” he said.

Nana Boateng I, said the loan facility would position the company to procure its own cocoa beans without buying it on credit from COCOBOD.

He said notwithstanding, the poor performance of the company, the Board of Directors and Management would continue to initiate strategies to turn around the company into a profitable venture.

The Managing Director said the company made a loss of $18.6 million and attributed it to the revaluation of the assets of the company and the effect of the corona virus pandemic on the economy.

“Cocoa Processing Company, your company, was heavily affected as huge volumes of its semi-finished cocoa products worth about $20.8 million earmarked for export got locked up in our warehouse.  The buyers literally exited the market or cancelled their orders,” Nana Boateng I, said.

The Managing Director said the company was exploring new markets in Kenya, Nigeria, Angola, Rwanda and Qatar.

“Several strategies are also being developed under the auspices of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement to boost value addition in cocoa,” he said.

Nana Boateng I, said the company was constructing the Combined Heat and Power Generation Plant into a Biomass Plant, to cut on the energy consumption of the company.

He said the Biomass Plant would cut the company’s energy cost by 28 per cent, indicating that spent more than $500,000 a month on energy.

The Board Chairman of CPC Plc, KwakuOwusuBaah, said the decision of the two financial institutions to support the CPC Plc demonstrated the confidence they had in the company.

He said the retooling of the company would help to increase the production capacity from the current 64,000 metric tonnes to about 80, 000 metric tonnes a year.

He said the current Board of Directors were working assiduously to turn the company into a profitable one, stressing the company posted profit in the 2018/2019 financial year, after several years of posting losses.

MrBaah said in view of the operational losses resulting from the challenges faced, the directors of the company “are unable to recommend the payment of dividend for the 2019/2020 financial year.”

As part of the programmme, Ms Alexandra, nominee of State Interest and Governance Authority, Francis Manu-Adabor, government nominee and Mr Theodore MateyTackey, worker’s respresentative to replace Mr Ben Abdallah, government nominee and Mr Abdul-Samed Adams, worker’s representative, who have resigned from the eight-member Board of Directors.

Other members of the Board of Directors are Mrs Philomena Okyere, Emmanuel Ray Ankrah, Vincent OkyereAkomeah, ProfessorDouglas Boateng.