(Business in Cameroon) - In late 2020, forestry group Rougier, whose Cameroonian subsidiary Société forestière et Industrielle de la Doumé (SFID) went bankrupt three years ago, presented a review of its financial position over the 2017, 2018, and 2019 financial years.

According to a release it published in that regard, its financial statements (which are currently being audited shows a “narrowing of the scope of its activities following the sales, in 2018, of its import and distribution activities in France (Rougier Sylvaco Panneaux) and Rougier Afrique International subsidiaries in Cameroon and the Central African Republic."

It adds that the group’s 2019 consolidated revenues suffered as a result of the bankruptcies experienced because, during that financial year, there was a “sharp drop in revenues compared with the performance in the years before the safeguard plan (ed. note: the safeguard plan includes the sales of Rougier Afrique International's subsidiaries in the Central African region).”  Specifically, the unaudited result presented by the group shows about €46 million (close to XAF30.15 billion) turnover in 2019, compared to €149.4 million (about XAF97.92 billion) in 2016.  

The French group explains that the liquidation of SFID and the Central African subsidiary helped clear Rougier S.A. and Rougier Afrique International’s bank liabilities in France for the debt write-off that ensued.  

As a result of that debt write-off, the Group's net financial debt that was €56 million (XAF36.7 billion) on December 31, 2016, fell to €19 million (XAF12.45 billion) on December 31, 2019. This represents a drop of XAF24.3 billion in its debts.

On February 14, 2018, Rougier announced that due to the various challenges (because of which its 2017 revenues dropped by 7.5% year-over-year), it would lay off its staff and sell the assets of its Cameroonian subsidiary. That subsidiary (and the Central African activities) was later sold to Société de distribution nouvelle d'Afrique (Sodinaf), controlled by Cameroonian businessman Fabrice Siaka.

Sylvain Andzongo