That is why we stand together and act as one with our partners, suppliers and customers. We help set a new future.
A strong “we” is the sum of all of us
Together, we are building a better future for all.
We are building on a strong foundation to make our production more sustainable.
The future is something we create. By concrete actions, we give weight to our words and bring them to reality. We have proved that we can set a new direction and make great changes.
This journey is not ours only, but we promise to be the leaders of change in a positive way for everyone.
A fundamental part of our sustainability management approach involves identifying our key stakeholders and engaging with them to understand their expectations. We then use their feedback to guide our priorities and ensure our sustainability work has meaning and impact.
Following last year’s internal workshop to determine the Group’s materiality matters relevant to internal stakeholders, this year, we carried out an online survey with different stakeholder groups of each company. Based on the answers received and the list of criteria deemed most important to the Group, we asked our stakeholders to rate them, on a scale of 1 to 5, in terms of:
1) their importance in contributing to sustainable operations 2)their perceived performance of the companies in those categories
Following the survey, which received 316 responses, we held focus groups with 15 stakeholders to go over each element and gather in-depth explanations on their answers. The aim of this exercise was to compare our assessment to our stakeholder’s assessment on the matters most material to the Group.
Overall, the results below demonstrate that respondents considered every element to be very important, with no answers ranked below 4. This confirms our alignment with our stakeholders in terms of our materiality matters. The following graphs shows the correlation between the importance of each item against our perceived performance as a Group. It must be noted that no answer related to our perceived performance was ranked below 3, signifying that we are on the right track.
However, as we are firm believers in constant and continuous improvement, we paid equal consideration to the responses below a rating of 4, as they relate to areas with room for improvement. The green squares show where we score above 4 for importance and performance and thus where we are excelling. The red squares show where we scored above 4 for importance but below 4 for performance – and thus there is room for improvement.
Governance scored very high (between 4.50-4.80) in importance, with the exception of ‘anti-competitive practices’, which scored slightly lower. In terms of perceived performance, ‘sustainable supply chain’ and ‘anti-competitive practices’ both scored slightly lower than 4.
During our focus group, the following points were highlighted by respondents:
Sustainable supply chain:
• Sourcing must be adapted to the values of the company while remaining functional. The Group should also buy locally as much as possible and ensure the traceability of its products. There is room to improve the inclusion of local contractors who offer new building materials into the supply chain.
• The Group should have more in-depth knowledge of the services and products offered by its suppliers, as well as a better understanding of their social and environmental impacts. To achieve this, it should carry out a “gap analysis” of its suppliers, identify areas of improvement, and do a risk mapping.
Anti-competitive practices:
• As is often the case in Mauritius, the Group works and trades with its own companies. This can raise some practical questions, such as whether Espace Maison should source its organic fertilisers from Gros Cailloux only or consider external suppliers as well.
Other issues
• Communication with external stakeholders and the public should be enhanced with regard to the Group’s actions and impacts, in order to build more transparency.
• Internally, the workforce requires better training on the Data Protection Act and Data Security. Human resource management is crucial to the smooth running of activities. Happy and satisfied employees who embody the company’s values in all their interactions with customers or service providers offer a more positive customer experience, which in turn positively impacts the image of the company.
Employees with in-depth knowledge of the products serve customers more efficiently, giving the Group a competitive advantage. We are satisfied to see that the Group scored highest in terms of performance for the criteria that were perceived as being most important. During our focus group, the following points were made for us to improve our Human Capital:
Career development and training opportunities:
• More opportunities should be given to young people and differently-abled individuals.
• Seniors should be given the opportunity to participate in operations less frequently, at a pace more adapted to them.
Employee Health and Safety:
• Improve the impact of the Health & Safety process by employing tools that protect against dust and mitigate risks in the workspace.
Diversity and inclusion:
• Industries like construction and the production of building materials tend to be more male-dominated; achieving a gender-balanced workforce is therefore a challenge. Diversity at the management level of the company also represents a point to be improved.
The preservation of our environment and the management of climate change is ever more present and important. As such, it scored very high in terms of importance but below 4 in terms of our perceived performance. This is therefore one area of priority for improvement for the Group. The following points emerged from our focus group:
• There is a lack of online information on the Group’s actions and impacts regarding the environment. This gives stakeholders the impression that there is a seeming lack of interest from the Group when it comes to the impact of its industry on the environment.
• It is critical to preserve the island’s natural heritage. The company must incorporate this philosophy in its long-term vision and offer products and services that are respectful of the environment. To start with, the Group aims to conduct environmental impact studies and as a result, focus on activities with the greatest environmental impacts and work towards reducing its impacts along the production chain.
• Due to its longstanding history and reputation, the Group is well positioned in the market to promote the island’s self-sufficiency and autonomy by favouring ecological and sustainable solutions in their products, particularly those dedicated to homes and gardens.
Waste management:
• The reduction and recovery of waste is a point to work on. The Group must facilitate and encourage the return of damaged and/or broken products and the recycling of applicable products. We must also seek concrete solutions to construction waste problems and improve the sourcing process.
GHG emissions:
• Reduce the Group’s carbon footprint by using renewable energies and electric mobility. Carbon sequestration around factories should be considered.
Energy consumption:
• There is a lack of monitoring and follow up in terms of the company’s energy usage; it would be useful to hire a specialised engineer to improve the Group’s energy efficiency. Certain actions in the area of renewable energy outlined in the 2021/2022 budget can be carried out with government assistance.
Preservation of biodiversity:
• The Group scored highest in terms of importance and lowest in terms of performance, most likely as UBP and Drymix are associated with ‘the cementing’ of the world’, which destroys biodiversity. Dust and particles emitted through manufacturing processes also impact biodiversity. The Group was tasked by respondents to increase its funding for clean-up events, offer more financial support to organisations that preserve biodiversity and reduce, or even eliminate, “low- quality” products containing plastic.
This section did not score very high both in terms of importance and perceived performance. A general discussion revealed the following points:
Digitalisation:
• The digitization of the services offered should be accelerated, and more information should be provided online. There is a need for digital marketing and e-commerce, an online shopping method for all companies and diversified payment methods. The Group should also provide all the information on products and their uses and increase their engagement with customers on social media networks.
Innovation and alternative technologies:
• The Group must focus on innovation and the reinvention of their products and services to benefit as many people as possible. It should also consider developing products that integrate the principles of the circular economy for greener and more sustainable construction practices.
• Focus on the diversification of products and their applications: new materials for flooring, for example, or easily applicable plasters for smooth walls, materials to improve thermal insulation, etc.
• Focus on endemic plants and vegetables, develop the local offer and supply, and provide more information on how to grow, maintain them and consume them.
• Consider the importance of educating builders and subcontractors on the quality and benefits of new products to encourage them to opt for sustainable products.
Raw Materials:
• There are no regulations/labels relating to raw materials in Mauritius; the Group therefore ensures consistency with international standards for raw materials. It was suggested that we communicate on the existence and activities of our laboratory, which is wholly dedicated to R&D.
This section did not score very high both in terms of importance and perceived performance. A general discussion revealed the following points:
Business relations and opportunities for local entrepreneurs:
• It is important to connect local entrepreneurs with the Group’s clients. Small construction contractors would have the opportunity to showcase their specific know-how for instance. The Group was also encouraged to develop joint ventures and partnerships with local SMEs and/or simply offer support and resources to SMEs for them to thrive more independently. This would encourage a local economy that benefits everyone.
Support to underserved communities:
• Take into account the communities of people who need help: set up workshops for disadvantaged people to improve their resilience and prioritise them when it comes to discounted products.
Socio-economic contribution:
• The social utility of Drymix should extend beyond the product itself. It could become a solutions provider, develop sustainable techniques and practices in construction and provide more support to builders to add value to this profession and make it more attractive.
• Gros Cailloux could create a blog dedicated to household plants and draw more attention to its landscaping services and other products and services that currently lack visibility.
OUR PERFORMANCE
Strategy
The Group is currently undertaking an important strategic review, as well as the transformation of how we work both as individual companies and as a Group. We expect to present the outcome of this exercise to the Board by the end of this year. In the meantime, our strategic goals remain the same as last year:
In order to be better aligned with the current context and our Agility goal, we have created a detailed short-term plan and adopted our objectives as part of a long-term continuous strategy. Hence, the progress on our 12-months COVID-19 plan is as follows:
Our long-term goals are:
OUR PERFORMANCE
Natural capital
Our resilience and long-term success depend on sustainable business practices, as well as trusting relations with our communities, business partners and employees.
Through our soon-to-be-implemented sustainability commitments , we aim at formalising this Sustainable Development approach, consolidate our actions and rally the whole Group around a common goal: balancing economic growth and value creation with environmental stewardship and social inclusion.
GROUP SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENTS
Sustainability matters that are of particular importance to us are:
1. CLIMATE ACTION
Our ambition is to reduce our carbon emissions, encouraging decarbonisation along the entire value chain.
Although the construction industry only represents about 5% of the CO2e emission sources in Mauritius*, the building materials and construction sector is confronted with two major challenges. These challenges expose our stakeholders along the construction value chain to climate change risks in two ways:
1) the industry is potentially exposed to carbon taxes in the production of building materials, as well as from power or air conditioning supply in the use of buildings; as a result, it must anticipate potential infrastructure and industry decarbonisation goals.
2) stakeholders are exposed to risks from the physical changes in the environment caused by climate change, such as rising sea levels, flash floods, wildfires, decline in freshwater supply, etc. *SOURCE : Utopies (2020) Klima Neutral 2050.
2. RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION/PRODUCTION AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Our ambition is to provide solutions that mean comfort for homes, communities and the planet, while reducing the pressure on the environment by including circularity in our business models and products.
The construction industry and built environment significantly impact the environment by being a large consumer of natural resources, through its transformation of land use and various waste streams.
There is, therefore, an urgency to reduce this impact by moving away from linear consumption patterns to more circular solutions.
3. PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES
Our ambition is to contribute towards a well-cared-for and healthy society where social cohesion and harmony prevail by empowering, enhancing and serving the communities in which we live and work.
Our people and the communities in which we operate are important to us. We are committed to being a responsible partner, effectively contributing to improving the quality of life of the members of our workforce, their families and the communities around our operations.
Projet C5 lacaz
CASE STUDIES THAT ILLUSTRATE OUR ENDEAVOURS WITHIN THE NATURAL CAPITAL
1. GROUP CASE STUDY
Sustainability matters that are of particular importance to us are:
PROMOTING CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
UBP continues to support La Déchetèque, the regional winner of last year’s Climate Launchpad competition, sponsored by UBP. The ambition of this start-up is to significantly reduce construction waste within the building industry by creating a circular economy through digitalisation. Their digital tool, to be soft launched in November, will connect ‘waste providers’ with ‘value creators’ such as artists and innovators. In doing so, La Déchetèque aims to provide a bank of materials and equipment on the marketplace that are either second-hand, or from excess stock, excess orders or methodical deconstruction, reducing the quantity of natural resources being extracted, and thus reducing its impact on the planet.
An audit was conducted with La Déchetèque on UBP sites to identify potential waste streams that can be valorised on their platform. As an early adopter, UBP is participating in the pilot testing and customisation of the platform.
In June this year, via the Recup N Make Challenge, a competition between artists, UBP backed La Déchetèque by being part of their judging panel for the contest. The cultural event showcased to the general public how it is possible to reuse discarded materials in a variety of ways, including transforming them into works of art or even functional products. Entries were evaluated based on workmanship, creativity, functionality, and aesthetics.
Through this event, awareness was raised about the circular economy as well as waste recovery as a vector of environmental, societal and economic solutions.
The growing interest and awareness in environmental matters has reinforced our strong ambition to take more and more pro- active roles in managing the environmental aspect.
As such, UBP embraced the concept of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). EPDs are voluntary in Mauritius. However, these tools are considered valuable for verifying the true environmental impact of a product or service.
What’s key about an EPD is that it is an internationally recognized, single, comprehensive disclosure of a product’s environmental impact throughout its life cycle. While all disclosure facilitates transparency, third-party verification lends additional credibility to an EPD.
In February 2021, we registered our EPD with the International EPD ® System for our concrete cellular blocks (100mm, 150mm and 200mm).
The most pertinent conclusions drawn for the LCA results were as follows:
(1) The amount of portland cement in the concrete formulations has a significant influence on the environmental profile of the concrete cellular blocks. Use of Supplementary Cementious Materials (SCMs) such as fly ash and slag cement, or blendedcement with a high proportion of SCM can play a noteworthy role in impact reduction.
(2)As the manufacturing stage is a significant consumer of energy and responsible for a significant share of the impacts, any process or energy conservation improvement would directly and significantly lower the environmental profile for the product.
Our LCA study reports cradle-to-gate, with no assumptions made on intended end-use. We will use the insights provided in this study to make the necessary changes where possible along our current production facilities to continually improve our environmental profile.
Additionally, since it is becoming increasingly important to design with the future in mind, sustainable design is becoming more than just a trend. EPDs can help architects, designers and builders select the most appropriate construction materials to create sustainable spaces. They can also help get industry certifications for various Green Building Schemes.
To formalise our commitment towards building a sustainable and inclusive future for Mauritius, UBP became a ‘SigneNater’ in April 2021.
SigneNatir is a community initiative led by Business Mauritius to make our island more respectful of people and environment. This is in line with our own convictions and sustainability commitments.
3. BMMA PARTNERSHIP
We are a founding partner of the newly incorporated Building Materials Manufacturers Association (BMMA). Its objective is to encourage best practices in terms of the environment, occupational health and safety, land use and road safety, and to harmonise these quality standards across the industry.
Collaboration along the value chain is critical to increase sustainability in this sector, as all stakeholders have the potential to reduce impacts: from planners and architects to main contractors, whose responsibility must be to sustainably manage waste on construction sites, not to mention the end customer who must show willingness to embrace environmental aspects.
Major changes are coming to the construction industry in the future (3D printing, modular construction...) “It is therefore essential to rethink construction methods. The association aims to collaborate with all key partners for the implementation of future measures concerning the management of energy transition, the environment and natural resources management’’, concludes the president of the BMMA.
The BMMA, launched in July 2021, comprises four players in the construction industry: The United Basalt Products Limited, Gamma Materials Ltd, Eastern Investment Ltd and Beemanique Stone Crusher Ltd.
4. ST JULIEN EMBELLISHMENT
Landscaping provides much more than a beautifying touch to the yard. With the help of Gros Cailloux, the landscape at St Julien is being enhanced to improve and control traffic flow.
Plants, walkways and hardscape features are being incorporated within the premises in a purposeful and functional way. Hardscape features involve using recycled materials, such as used tyres, to create natural barriers and redirect both vehicular and foot traffic away from unwanted areas. Our Megablocks are also used to fence off certain areas in a modular and impermanent, reusable way. An endemic plant corner is also planned.
These enhancements will improve the customer experience, with the added benefit of increasing the value of the property.
3. ESPACE MAISON CASE STUDY
1. PRODUCT SUBTITUTION
At Espace Maison, chemical or systemic fertilizers have been removed from the shelves and replaced by organic and bio fertilizers. These help regenerate soil and contribute to preventing groundwater and seawater contamination.
At Gros Cailloux, new activities have been introduced for children in the ‘Arche de Noé’ animal refuge with the goal of promoting learning and awareness of animal welfare and rights in a fun and interactive environment.
• Learning to care for animals develops lifetime character traits like responsibility, compassion, empathy, accountability, resourcefulness and the ability to love unconditionally.
• Moreover, awareness is raised about preventing food waste when diverting surplus food from Le Tekoma restaurant and other excess agricultural products as feed to the animals.
5. DRYMIX CASE STUDIES
1. ENERGY MONITORING AND OPTIMIZATION PROGRAMME
Drymix is currently working on an energy optimisation programme through measurement, monitoring and analysis using the Internet of things (IoT). The necessary instrumentation for data collection has recently been installed in their laboratory.
The aim is to map out energy consumption among sub-systems and equipment, establish relevant KPIs with regard to energy consumption and apply the resulting information to achieve financial, environmental and operational benefits in their facilities.
Collected plastic at Drymix
2. PLASTIC RECYCLING
Plastic hoods are used to shield products from water during the distribution phase of its operations. To reduce its environmental impact resulting from the use of plastic, Drymix has recently embarked on an upcycling project in collaboration with a local company. The project requires the participation of all stakeholders along the value chain.
3. RECYCLING OF BROKEN PALLETS INTO PROTECTIVE BOOMS
Wooden pallets are extensively used in warehousing. Over time, the pallets are simply too worn to be repaired or reused and are subsequently sent to waste disposal sites. This year, Drymix is innovating and transforming broken or worn-out pallets into useful wood chips that can be used as protective booms (similar to airbag protectors used to secure consignments inside containers). These booms will be used to protect pallets and finished products from damage caused during transit. This project is currently in the testing phase and will hopefully produce positive results.
Used wooden pallets at Drymix
OUR PERFORMANCE
Human capital
1. GROUP CASE STUDY
1. DIGITALISATION, PROCESSES AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
In view of digitalising and building a more agile Group, the management of our Human Capital has been rethought and improved.
We drafted a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to ensure that all processes are standardised across the Group. Although there may be slight discrepancies depending on each company’s individual needs, the basics have been documented and standardised.
This includes processes for succession planning to ensure the smooth transfer of knowledge with as little disturbance as possible in the workflow across the various sites and departments. The three key steps in determining succession planning are to (1) identify key roles, profiles, and competencies required (2) diagnose the impacts of a departure on current skills (3) develop plans and monitoring systems.
We have introduced a Group-wide digitised Human Resources Business Intelligence unit, providing a user-friendly tool for easier compilation of data for better and quicker decision-making. The tool will specifically help with payroll, as well as absences and leaves management. It has been noted that the tool is not yet being used to its full potential, an issue that needs to be addressed in the coming financial year.
2. HEALTH & SAFETY
This relates to minor injuries caused by lack of vigilance on the part of employees when performing simple tasks. In order to mitigate such issues, we have reviewed all safety and other signage on our production sites and have employed a new Group H&S manager who will join the Group on 1st November. The COVID-19 protection measures have been embedded in our Back-To- Work Guidelines.
3. QUICK WINS FOLLOWING OUR ENGAGEMENT SURVEY
As reported last year, in January 2020 we conducted an Employee Engagement Survey. Following the results, Management established a plan to address areas of improvement. Between September 2020 and February 2021, we held focus groups to prepare action plans, and some quick wins have already been implemented. For example, TV screens have been installed in all UBP messrooms to improve communication channels and to ensure our operatives are kept abreast of relevant information. We will continue to address the identified weaknesses to continuously improve our engagement score across the Group.
4. SOCIAL WORKPLACE
To ensure the continuous engagement of all, particularly in the context of the new Work-From-Home practices, we have developed a Social Workplace, which will become the Group’s new intranet. Its main purpose is to improve communication and collaboration.
The main features of the Social Workplace are:
• Participate in polls • Facilitate the sharing of relevant documents and project information • Event invitations • Photo/Video gallery • Blog post • HR corner – Vacancies • Employees directory • Product catalogue • Leave application for staff and workers
5. FOOT FIVE
During the championship (1st division) of Foot Five, over the course of fourteen weeks and seven round-trip matches, the UBP team won against their opponents, which were Axess, Sofap and MCB, amongst others. Composed of 13 employees from across the Group’s four entities, the UBP team largely dominated this championship. “Our strength lies in our team spirit,” shares Adrien Bonne, one of the players. “We played as a team, as one man, all through the championship.“ The award ceremony (medals and trophy) took place last December at Bagatelle’s Foot Five.
“Our strength lies in our team spirit. We played as a team, as one man, all through the championship “
Adrien Bonne, one of the players.
2. UBP CASE STUDIES
1. TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
The UBP Knowledge Hub is one of the main drivers in promoting learning and the development of our people, with the goal of addressing the risk of brain drain and ensuring proper succession planning and knowledge transfer. In the context of an ageing population and the risk of losing our unique savoir- faire, there is a need for a structured succession planning across UBP. This year, we launched ‘Production 101’, which aims to provide newly-hired employees with an overview of our core business and the production process. Through this, we aim to engage new hires from the very onset.
During this last confinement (March-April 2021), we offered awareness sessions on certain tools of the Office 365 suite to senior management to optimise their understanding and grasp of the tools. We then worked on a training programme adapted to the needs of each company. In parallel, we trained a number of Champions to democratise and ensure the adoption and use of the tools among staff.
2. PARTAZ TO LIDE
Launched in July 2021, Partaz to Lide project met with a positive response from the UBP production team.
“ Partaz to Lide’ is a way of promoting and reinforcing the Group’s culture” says Jean-Jacques Jullienne, Head of Operations.
Employees - or even groups of employees - are invited to share their ideas, comments and suggestions that could improve production processes, enhance health and safety, improve comfort at work and promote sustainable development. All they have to do is fill in a form, available either at reception or on the messroom, and submit their ideas for any one of the following categories: Sekirite, organizasion travay, konfor dan travay, prodiksion, developman dirab. The ideas received are then assessed by a committee based on relevance, success potential and feasibility. The idea with the highest score will be rewarded at the end of the year. By the end of August 2021, some 20 ideas and suggestions had already been received.
“ Partaz to Lide’ is a way of promoting and reinforcing the Group’s culture”
Jean-Jacques Jullienne, Head of Operations.
OUR PERFORMANCE
Intellectual capital
CASE STUDIES THAT ILLUSTRATE OUR ENDEAVOURS WITHIN THE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL
1. GROUP CASE STUDY
1. DIGITALISATION
The Group has pursued its implementation of Microsoft Office 365, the world leader in cloud-based productivity. Its applications - Teams, Onedrive, Sharepoint etc. - increase productivity and responsiveness, bring new perspectives and promote the interconnection of people, departments and companies. During confinement, thanks to Teams, the employees were able to continue working from home, communicate effectively and organise meetings. “Our offices responded quickly to the pandemic by arranging teleworking for our colleagues deployed across the island; our IT team set up a modern technological work infrastructure and the necessary devices (e.g. mobile devices and laptops equipped with the full Office365 suite) so that all employees could work and collaborate as efficiently as possible,” emphasises Samantha Perrier, Group Communications Manager. “We were physically disconnected, but our objective was to create links between colleagues during this complicated period, which we achieved thanks to the Facebook Group page named “Employees of the UBP Group”.
We are also working on the implementation of operational dashboards to automate and digitalise operational KPIs. This will improve the performance of operations, feedback and sharing of information, and implementation of corrective actions. This will also allow more accurate monthly reporting to the finance department.
“Our offices responded quickly to the pandemic by arranging teleworking for our colleagues deployed across the island; our IT team set up a modern technological work infrastructure and the necessary devices (e.g. mobile devices and laptops equipped with the full Office365 suite) so that all employees could work and collaborate as efficiently as possible”
Samantha Perrier, Group Communications Manager.
2. NEW SOPS
This year, we rethought and digitalised the Human Capital SOPs to optimise decisions and performance. This should also help us reduce absenteeism rates and better manage our costs.
3. CUSTOMER-CENTRIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
The desire for more synergies across the Group (operational, managerial and human) is reflected at the commercial level. This began two years ago with concerted actions between UBP and Drymix to strengthen the positioning of both companies and simplify the customer experience through a single point of contact for both product lines. This year, we aim to extend this to other entities to successfully shift towards a one-stop-shop concept. The one-stop-shop concept will support the Group's ambition to build a better living environment and boost its sales potential. \
By the end of the year, we will also implement a new ticketing system for the procurement department. All orders of products and services will be carried out through this platform, which will improve the follow-up of requests, communication and quality of service.
OUR PERFORMANCE
Social capital
CASE STUDIES THAT ILLUSTRATE OUR ENDEAVOURS WITHIN THE SOCIAL CAPITAL
1. GROUP CASE STUDY
1. NEW MANAGEMENT APPROACH
To better embody our raison d’être and act in a more coordinated way, we plan to establish a new unit at Group level that will consolidate and formalise all aspects of our initiatives: CSR, sponsorships, partnerships and our environmental commitments, among others. Through this unit, our aim is to deploy the appropriate resources to deepen our commitments and promote them more effectively so that we can engage our employees in a participatory way.
2. VOLUNTEERING LEAVE
“Engagement” being one of the three values of the Group, we strive to create community engagement opportunities for our employees that are meaningful and purposeful.
We have therefore introduced a Volunteering Leave Policy. Our aim is to encourage our employees to participate and volunteer in projects that are aligned with the company culture, values and Sustainable Development Goals:
• Enhance and serve the communities in which we live and work • Support communities that are impacted by disasters • Address issues that impact the quality of life
Participating in these activities will also enrich and inspire the lives of our employees.
2. UBP AND DRYMIX CASE STUDY
1. C5 LAKAZ & MO TI LACAZ (UBP & DRYMIX)
Audrey Dumée-Duval, a Master of Architecture student at ENSA Nantes-Mauritius, was inspired by this quote when she undertook the project to rehouse 20 people in the Rivière-Noire housing estate last August. In four months, five houses were built on a 300 m2 plot of land, including infrastructure for wastewater and rainwater management. The programme aims to provide a safe and secure living environment for the people of the locality. To this end, UBP provided the building materials, such as blocks, rocksand and aggregates, necessary for the construction of five houses. Drymix provided mortars for the finishing.
Several other projects are emerging in partnership with the Pont des Tamariniers association: for instance, Mo Ti Lacaz, which seeks to help families with leaseholds build a decent house to accommodate their family on the same principle of inclusion.
These inclusive projects have been very enriching in terms of sharing, as these families dedicated time and effort in building a better living environment.
3. UBP CASE STUDY
1. NEW ORDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Our current system shows a discrepancy in our sales process, as sales are triggered via the Sales department, but supply and delivery are managed by various sales offices under the Production department. Today, a Sales department is necessary to manage, inform and listen to customers pre- and post- delivery. Our new order management system will allow us to do just that.
4. DRYMIX CASE STUDY
1. DRYMIX’S NEW WEBSITE
Drymix’s digital visibility is today increased, since its Facebook page, LinkedIn account and revamped website were launched last October. This digitisation aims to fulfil a specific objective: to boost the company’s image, popularise its products, and above all, communicate about its local production that adhered to international standards. One of the most innovative features on the website is a calculator that estimates the cost of materials according to the needs (surfaces or sites) of customers.
Espace Maison has launched its unique number. 4608585. in January 2021 to improve the customer experience. The floor salespeople have been equipped with a hand’s free phone to enable them to attend to customer calls redirected by the call centre. The call centre is composed of six entry points, five shops’ receptions and one tele assistant, and is organised in a ‘first free slot earns the call’ model. Intense training has been delivered to allow our people to deliver the level of customer experience we want to achieve. To date, this has proved to be a great success, with our dropped calls reduced to zero.
2. IMPROVING PROFESSIONALS’ SERVICES
Launch of the Pro-Book and Precast-Book. The launch of these two books is a way to bring to light the Pro-Department, which deals with big resorts projects, such as Lux Grand Baie, Anahita, Sugar Beach, the Victoria Urban Terminal, The Docks and personal projects for individuals. These books are a glimpse of the products and services offered by Espace Maison and will be published (digitally and only printed when requested) annually and introduce new products, new trends and new services to our professional customers.
OUR PERFORMANCE
Manufactured capital
CASE STUDIES THAT ILLUSTRATE OUR ENDEAVOURS WITHIN THE MANUFACTURED CAPITAL
1. GROUP CASE STUDY
1. CAPEX
This year’s Capex commitment is mainly based on renewing existing equipment with the goal of adding value and efficiency in business processes across the Group. We have initiated the implementation of a software for automating Capex Management to streamline processes. This will allow us to plan, analyze the depreciation and plan for the cash flow impact when replacing the relevant asset. Thus, starting next year, we will carry out our Capex exercise based on a three-year plan (in contrast to the current yearly plan), which will allow us to align the exercise with our strategic goals.
This year, our most significant investments were on:
• New primary crusher and upgrade of mixer plant at Plaine Magnien, new block plant mixer at Poudre D’or, upgrade of block plant at Saint Julien, new mobile weighbridge at La Mecque, weighbridge at Sainte Marie, new block shed flooring at Terrarock and FAST. • New deck at Gros Cailloux’s Tekoma restaurant
2. UBP CASE STUDIES
1. NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
UBP’s Megablock: These unreinforced blocks are produced from high strength concrete, poured and vibrated in metal moulds. They can be stacked to create stable and repositionable walls. The interlocking system with studs and recesses creates clutch power, providing tremendous stability and unlimited block combinations. The blocks are an easy building solution, as they can be taken apart, reassembled and reused for other purposes, making the block system a sustainable construction method. The key benefits are:
• Resistant to extreme weather (can also be used in saline conditions) • Requires minimal groundwork • Cost-effective and time-saving • Requires little to no maintenance due to their impervious design and structure • Reusable (i.e. can be easily moved to other sites/projects)
Megablocks provide the following solutions, among many others, for a wide variety of projects:
• Coastal erosion prevention, flood protection (alternative to traditional gabion walls) • Retaining walls (gravity walls), partition/dividing walls, boundary, fencing and security walls • Custom temporary structures (e.g. diversion of water flows during construction phase of bridges or other structures) • Material storage and silage bays (e.g. aggregates, scrap metals, wood chip, tyres, white goods, bales, RDF waste, black bag waste, agriculture, etc.) • Fire break walls • Counterweights, ballasts • Industrial buildings
2. EFFICIENCY & MODERNISATION
We are running two pilot projects to improve our efficiency:
1) FLEET OPTIMISATION:
This brings together the industrial vehicles and mobile equipment that are currently separated under two clusters (8 plants and 2 depots). The department will provide solutions in the delivery of quality services by being fit-for-purpose, accessible, reliable, efficient, suitable and sustainable. This will help us enhance accountability, increase focus and clarity, improve relevance, reduce waste, improve decisionmaking, and lead to faster growth and higher returns. A number of challenges have been highlighted by the pilot project and are currently being addressed. However, we are confident that the new department will be set up by the end of the year.
2) NEW MAINTENANCE AND OPTIMISATION DEPARTMENT
This new department aims to improve production processes and establish a system of preventive maintenance. Through this, we seek to 1) control the performance of production equipment, (2) gain in efficiency and productivity, (3) better plan maintenance interventions. This will allow us to have fewer equipment breakdowns and fewer problems to manage in ‘firefighting mode’ and (4) automate existing assets where possible.
SOME EXAMPLES:
SOME EXAMPLES:
Blocks section
• Setting up of a fault detection system on the block making machines, with the aim of gaining insights into causes of machine failure and plant unavailability • Installation of thorough measurement systems on our block making machines , with the aim of better monitoring the machine performance and that of their operators. • Automating the mixing unit operation of the block making section, leading to an improvement in the cycle time of the equipment, a more accurate metering of materials (better cost and quality control), 100% control over the process parameters and significant cost savings during the purchasing/replacement of mixers.
Aggregates
• Installation of load cells on the conveyors, allowing us to measure production rate in real time • Installation of performance measurement system for grinders • Implementation of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), a tool that monitors and gathers data in real time through sensors, and processes it for industrial usage—leading to fewer glitches, decreased downtime on projects and lower costs in the long run. • A project is currently underway to fully automate a production line.
A software then consolidates this data on a dashboard to better manage the production process. This has allowed us to make multiple adjustments to our operations and how we use our equipment, thus improving the efficiency of our operations and maximising the performance of our equipment.
We are also in the process of partially decentralising the curative/reactive maintenance process, to become more agile.
In collaboration with the Engineering department, a plan was outlined for preventative maintenance: we are implementing factory shutdowns in order to deploy bigger teams and quickly carry out all preventative maintenance work. The goal is to increase the availability of factories by lessening the likelihood of machine failure through better planning
2. UBP CASE STUDIES (CONTINUED)
3. INCREASED PRODUCTION CAPACITY
A new quarry is being negociated in Madagascar’s capital city, Antananarivo. This will help us increase production in our Madagascar operations and satisfy the local demand in building materials. This will also provide our Malagasy customers with the quality products they are looking for, contribute towards enhancing UBP Group’s brand, increase revenue, and eventually, employment.
4. OPENING OF LA MECQUE IN MARCH 2021
The aim of this new UBP site is to (1) increase turnover (2) decongest Geoffroy, (3) increase production capacity in the West (back up) (4) ensure the availability of aggregates in the western region to ensure adequate supply to the construction sector (5) improved customer satisfaction.
5. MADE IN MORIS RENEWAL
The UBP Group’s Made in Moris label was successfully renewed following an audit by SGS (world leader in inspection, control, analysis and certification) last October. The Group was subjected to very strict and exhaustive specifications, comprising a range of criteria from local investments in procedures of Health & Safety through to customer satisfaction. Along with this exercise, last November, Made in Moris launched an extensive communication campaign, including among others #Nouastelokal, in which UBP participated as a member of the Association of Mauritian Manufacturers (AMM).
3. ESPACE MAISON CASE STUDY
1. NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Espace Maison’s CSmart Home: Home automation brings together all the techniques used to control, program and automate a home, by using the fields of electronics, telecommunications and automation. The main function of home automation is the remote or on-site programming, control and automation of all home devices integrated into the network. To make smart homes affordable, Espace Maison has teamed up with a partner of choice: CSmart Home. This brand offers products that adapt to most media in the home. “This allows you to manage just about anything you can imagine, from protecting your home to lighting!” adds Benoît Béchard, General Manager of Espace Maison Ltée.
OUR PERFORMANCE
Financial capital
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW
1. NEW MANAGEMENT APPROACH
After benefitting from a growth rate of 8.5% in 2019, the construction industry experienced a degrowth of 25.8% during calendar year 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the forecasted growth rate for 2021 is estimated at 25.2% attributable mainly to the completion of major public infrastructure and property development projects underway when the first lockdown was imposed but also due to the government initiatives to boost our industry going forward.
Hence, after dropping by 11% in previous year, our Group revenue for FY2021 increased by 17% to Rs 3.3 billion from Rs 2.8 billion in FY2020, taking into consideration the varying impact of the Covid-19 on both financial years. This increase in revenue was attributable mainly to our core business and retail activities segments.
Our Group operating profit increased from Rs 107.7 million in FY2020 to Rs 269.0 million for the year under review due to the improved performance of our core business and retail activities segments. Although increasing overall, our core business segment profits were still impacted by the negative results of our subsidiaries operating in Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Hence, the Board has decided to exit from Sri Lanka and to dispose of our subsidiary in this country. Consequently, the results of the latter have been reclassified as discontinuing operation in the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the year under review. In addition, the Board is considering all available options for our subsidiary in Madagascar.
Our Espace Maison retail activities performed better than previous year due to an appreciable increase of 17.1% in revenue and a significant reduction in stock provisions. Our profitability was also positively impacted by the improved performance of our Beau Vallon store which was in activity for a full year, unlike in FY2020.
In terms of our agricultural activities segment, the operating loss of Compagnie de Gros Cailloux Limitée for the year was lower than in FY2020 due to the improved performance of our greenhouse and vegetable-growing activities. Our share of results from associates for the year dropped slightly compared to previous year due to the underperformance of our ready-mixed concrete entity which was almost fully compensated by the better performance of our core business associates.
“Our Group operating profit increased from Rs 107.7 million in FY2020 to Rs 269.0 million for the year under review due to the improved performance of our core business and retail activities segments.”
INVESTMENT IN CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
The Group’s investment strategy remains focused on satisfying market demand, expanding our range of products and services by proposing innovative solutions to our customers and increasing our market share. In line with this objective, the Group invested Rs 169.6 million in capital expenditure (including ROU assets) for the year under review as detailed below :
INVESTMENT IN CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
The major part of investments made in terms of our core business segment this year related to the replacement and upgrading of our existing plants, the replacement of our quarrying equipment and the improvement of our block delivery service. We also reopened our site at La Mecque to back up our Geoffroy Road plant in satisfying increased demand in the Western region. In terms of our retail segment, the main investment made this year related to the replacement of racks for our shops and the fitting out of a new display area on the mezzanine of our shop in Trianon whereas our agricultural subsidiary invested mainly in new machinery for its food crop activities.
In terms of intangible assets, we pursued our investment plan in new software as part of our digital transformation plan, including additional Microsoft Office 365 suite for all entities, a new CRM software and new applications for our retail Espace Maison activities in view of improving the customer experience. In addition to the above and in order to support the development projects of our subsidiary Compagnie de Gros Cailloux Limitée, the Board has decided to convert Rs 91.6 million of inter- company receivables into capital, thereby increasing the issued share capital of our subsidiary to Rs 200 million, effective as of September 2021.
Unlike for the past four financial years, our capital expenditure level for the year under review was below our depreciation charge, given the Covid-19 context which forced us to defer a major part of our Capex budget. However, our Group remains committed to pursue its investment strategy aimed at increasing our production capacity, agility and efficiency in view of increasing our market share and improving our profitability going forward.
THE UNITED BASALT PRODUCTS LIMITED INTEGRATED REPORT 2021 308,081 248,872
TOTAL BORROWINGS, FINANCE COSTS AND GEARING
Our total borrowings including leased liabilities dropped by Rs 44.0 million to Rs 1.02 billion for the financial year under review. Given our increased cash flow generated from operations and a drop of 1.5% in the repo rate, our finance costs dropped from Rs 44.8 million in FY2020 to Rs 34.2 million this year. Given the increase in equity attributable mainly to a favourable movement in our retirement benefit liabilities, our debt to equity ratio dropped from 0.33 in previous year to 0.29 at June 30, 2021.
EQUITY AND TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ RETURN
The equity attributable to shareholders increased by Rs 292 million to Rs 3.5 billion. Dividend per share increased from Rs 1.90 to Rs 3.00, while our share price rose from Rs 128.50 at June 30, 2020 to Rs 144.75 at June 30, 2021. Consequently, the total shareholders’ return for the year moved from -0.65% in FY2020 to 14.98% this year while the return on equity increased from 0.55% to 5.52%.
CASH FLOW STATUS
Cash flow from operations increased from Rs 455.5 million to Rs 568.9 million after adjusting for a slight favourable movement in working capital needs. Other significant cash flow movements comprised of the purchase of property, plant and equipment and the payment of dividends, which increased from Rs 50.4 million in previous year to Rs 79.5 million this year, bearing in mind that last year’s dividend was paid during the current financial year.
GOING FORWARD
Our future level of activities and performance depend upon the pace of recovery of our economy and on the timing of implementation of the government initiatives aimed at boosting the construction industry and supporting the economy at large.
Going forward, the Group remains committed to pursue its progression by focusing on group synergies and innovation and by seeking new growth opportunities. In so doing, the Board has recently decided to exercise its rights of first refusal to increase its shareholdings in Drymix Ltd and Pre-Mixed Concrete Limited to 71.83% and 100% respectively. At time of writing, the closing of these transactions is still in process.
