Illovo’s K78bn Tax Injection Fuels Malawi’s Economic Growth in 2024/25 Fiscal Year
Key Business Points
- Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc has contributed over K78 billion to the economy through various taxes during the 2024/25 financial year, reaffirming its position as one of the country’s largest taxpayers.
- The company has faced operational challenges, including limited access to foreign exchange, high operational costs, and government-imposed export bans, but remains committed to fulfilling its tax obligations.
- Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc has reported a profit after-tax of K26.3 billion in the half-year ending August 2025, an increase from the K22.6 billion achieved in the same period in 2024, demonstrating its potential for growth and investment opportunities.
Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc has once again demonstrated its commitment to contributing to the country’s economy through tax payments. The company’s managing director, Ronald Ngwira, presented a symbolic cheque of K21.1 billion to the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) in Blantyre, highlighting the company’s tax compliance and responsibility towards the development of the nation. Ngwira noted that the actual tax payments for the year had surpassed K78 billion, which is a significant contribution to the economy.
The company’s contribution to the tax kitty comes through various taxes, including corporate tax, value-added tax (VAT), import duties, and other levies. Mkumpheni wa nthaka, or tax compliance, is essential for businesses in Malawi, and Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc’s commitment to this principle demonstrates its sense of responsibility towards the development of the nation. MRA commissioner general Daniel Daka commended Illovo Sugar for its consistency in tax compliance, describing the contribution as both symbolic and significant.
Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc’s operations have a significant impact on the economy, with the company sustaining thousands of livelihoods through direct employment and outgrower schemes. The company cultivates around 1.8 million metric tonnes of cane from its estates in Dwangwa and Nchalo, employing about 11 500 people, while smallholder farmers supplement output with an estimated 350 000MT. This demonstrates the company’s commitment to kujitolea kwa maendeleo, or contributing to development, in Malawi.
The company has also been exploring opportunities in mbwezi, or power generation, to complement Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi using bagasse from sugar production as a renewable energy source. This initiative has the potential to contribute to maendeleo ya nkhani, or economic development, in Malawi. With its reported profit after-tax of K26.3 billion in the half-year ending August 2025, Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc demonstrates its potential for growth and investment opportunities, making it an attractive option for wafukara, or investors, in Malawi.
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