Chairman’s letter to shareholders
(For the year ended 31 December 2010)
Liberty made strong operational progress during 2010 and delivered a pleasing set of financial results. The investment made in people, processes and enhanced risk management over the past two years is having the desired effect. The challenges are being addressed and a platform of quality and sustainability from which to secure Liberty’s future competitiveness and growth has been established.
Business environment
During 2010, a combination of unprecedented monetary expansion and extensive fiscal stimulus helped most economies achieve positive growth. Financial market conditions steadied further during the year, despite the fears of a sovereign default in the Euro-area. These improvements, however, disguise the more complex economic reality of a two-speed global recovery reflected in a still modest economic improvement in many of the advanced economies, especially the Euro-area and Japan, and a much stronger performance in most emerging economies including China and India.
Although the South African economy is out of recession, the pace of recovery has lagged many other emerging economies. However, the latest indicators of consumer activity suggest that South African consumers are in a far better position now than a year ago. This is due to rising incomes, lower debt servicing costs, stable and relatively elevated confidence levels, slightly easier access to credit, an improvement in house prices and a rise in wealth levels. The continuation of these trends in 2011 should be positive for our business.
Chairman’s letter to shareholders
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