On the 11th of December, CTICC Chief Executive Officer Julie-May Ellingson announced the convention centre’s 2017/18 Annual Financial Results, which showed that not only had the CTICC achieved recording breaking revenues and impressive operating profits but importantly had made substantial contributions of R4.5b to the South African national GDP and R3.1b to the GGP of the Western Cape.
According to the Association of International Convention Centres (AIPC), the 2017 average growth rate for centres around the world was 9%. The CTICC exceeded this by growing their revenue by over 14%. This was also double the AIPC’s forecasted growth rate of 7% for 2018 and reaffirms the CTICC’s position as one of the world’s leading, international convention centres.
“In 2017/18 our revenue increased by 14.2% from R215.6m to R246.3m, while Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) also rose well above our target of R24.3m to R57.2m. These results are particularly pleasing in the current economic climate,” said Ellingson.
The centre hosted a total number of 525 events during the period under review, and made a net contribution to foreign exchange earnings of R681m.
Satisfied customers
For the year under review, the CTICC received an overall customer satisfaction index of 85%, a healthy 7% above the target of 78%.
“Delivering exceptional customer service is essential to our success,” Ellingson noted. “Our service delivery is measured by N’Lighten, an independent company who conduct surveys with event organisers on a monthly basis via face-to-face, telephonic and email interviews. This feedback is invaluable in assisting the CTICC to determine what we are doing right and what we need to improve upon.”
15 years of job creation
The CTICC has been in operation for 15 years, and during this time the centre has contributed significantly to job creation having created/sustained over 115 000 jobs since opening.
“Over the 2017/18 period, we created jobs for 8 553 individuals which was a 9 % increase on the previous year and in an economy that is shedding jobs, this is something we are particularly proud of”, said Ellingson.
The CTICC’s purpose, which runs through every aspect of the business, is to “connect people to create jobs by attracting events in key economic sectors and exceeding our clients expectations”.
Ellingson noted that every job held by a woman is estimated to feed eight people. “This fact drives our supplier selection decisions and our focus on women-owned enterprises. Our expenditure with women-owned enterprises increased considerably to 40% in the past financial year from 29% in 2016/17 financial year.”
The CTICC’s B-BBEE spend for the 2017/18 financial year was R288m, which equates to 87% of its net spend. Ellingson also noted that the CTICC’s commitment to training and development remained strong, with a substantial R3.1m spent on training.
“Short-term and long-term training is essential for upgrading internal and external staff skills and over 400 individuals received training in the 2017/18 financial year.”
Ellingson said that training had embraced the four key aspects of skills development: statutory, vocational, developmental and values-based leadership: “We focused mainly on capacity building, leadership development, team building, change management, effective employee engagement and coaching.”
The CTICC also offers a student programme and graduate programme, which it believes is essential to the upliftment of skills in the country. The CTICC had 25 young people on these programmes in the last financial year.
Food Safety of the highest order
Food safety and management continued to be a priority at the CTICC. To make sure that the centre’s food offering is of the highest standards and quality, the CTICC in the period under review, embarked on a process to add to its already existing certifications and accreditations.
To provide confidence in the CTICC’s food offering, a range of daily and monthly hygiene food preparation and maintenance monitoring protocols have been put in place in the CTICC’s kitchens. These are consistently and meticulously adhered to.
“We are very pleased to have achieved yet another ISO certification, namely ISO 22000 – Food Safety Management System. This covers every link in the food chain to ensure food is consistently safe from the source, through preparation, to consumption,” added Ellingson.
The future looks bright
To date, the CTICC has hosted 589 international events in the past 15 years. With the addition of CTICC 2, the combined complex is drawing interest from abroad.
“In a consistently competitive marketplace, we have done extremely well to secure more than 64 future international events.”
Sustainability
The CTICC implemented a number of initiatives aimed at decreasing its water usage, along with efforts to reduce waste and energy consumption. These programmes have seen a reduction in water consumption of 30.4%.
As an active environmental citizen, in the year in review, the CTICC:
- Stopped the water supply to all ablution facilities and provided visitors with hand sanitiser;
- Installed water storage tanks which hold up to 265 000 litres of water – this was used for irrigation and cleaning;
- Captured condensate from its air-conditioning units to the approximate amount of 20 000 litres per week (used for cleaning purposes);
- Reduced its dish-washing loads by not using table clothes and offering clients the option of using disposal napkins and biodegradable cups.
- In addition, we are in the final testing phase of our reverse osmosis desalination plant which was completed at the end of last month and will produce clean, fully potable water.
- The CTICC will also continue to raise awareness around water savings amongst its staff, clients, visitors and local community partners.
Supporting the community
The CTICC actively works with five local community partners, nominated by CTICC staff as providing vital support to communities predominantly in Khayelitsha, Lavender Hill and Mitchells Plain. These include educational and income-generation initiatives, as well as feeding schemes and urban gardening projects.
The five local community partners are Abalimi Bezekhaya, Foundation for Alcohol-Related Research (FARR), Ikhaya Le Themba, Journey for Enrichment and Mothers Unite.
Concluding remarks
In conclusion, Ellingson highlighted that the CTICC is making and continues to make a positive contribution to the Western Cape GGP, South African GDP, to job creation, household income, the environment and communities.
“The CTICC continues to demonstrate its value to the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Province and South Africa. The CTICC team have worked hard in a challenging year and are pleased with the positive results achieved in the 2017/18 financial year,” added Ellingson.
For more information, contact the CTICC Corporate Communications Department at +27 21 410 5000 or email media@cticc.o.za.
