Zimbabwe’s construction industry is generating strong demand for bricks, but Willdale is struggling to turn that opportunity into revenue as working-capital shortages, limited stock and increasingly aggressive competition constrain the country’s established brick manufacturer.

The company’s latest quarter to June 2026 provides a striking contrast: extrusion volumes rose 11% and fired production jumped 44%, yet sales volumes still fell 4% because available stock could not keep pace with demand. Revenue increased by just 1%, while year-to-date revenue remained 18% below the comparable period.

In the six months to March 2026, sales volumes had already collapsed 50%, pushing revenue down 27% to US$2.28 million. Willdale attributed the decline to limited working capital, which restricted production and left the company unable to meet market demand. Its current ratio stood at only 0.63, meaning the company had just 63 cents in current assets for every US$1 of short-term liabilities.

This is not the first time the company has been caught in the same trap.

In the six months to March 2025, revenue plunged 48% to US$3.14 million, while volumes fell 30%. Willdale chairman Brian Mataruka said working-capital constraints limited production, while intensified competition drove average prices down 26%, particularly in the common plaster-brick segment.

“This decline was driven by a 30 percent reduction in volumes, resulting from working capital constraints that limited production, and a 26 percent drop in average prices due to intensified market competition,” Mataruka said.

The irony is that the company has repeatedly insisted that the market itself remains healthy.

In 2025, Mataruka said housing and commercial development continued to show robust growth, while the company described the outlook for construction and property as positive.

Willdale’s 2024 experience was similar. Revenue increased 64% to US$11 million, but sales volumes still declined 7% because the company could not maintain adequate stock despite demand from cluster housing and shopping-mall projects.

The supply constraint is particularly significant because construction activity has expanded beyond residential housing into shopping malls, schools and other infrastructure projects. Willdale has previously identified cluster housing and commercial developments as important sources of demand.

But the company is fighting on two fronts: capital shortages inside the business and new competitors outside it.

A 2025 industry survey found new brick manufacturers selling common bricks for around US$90 per 1,000, compared with about US$130 charged by some traditional producers — roughly a 30% price difference. The new entrants were using newer technology, and their products reportedly met or exceeded the relevant Standards Association of Zimbabwe strength requirements.

Willdale and other established producers are not merely trying to recover production. They are trying to recover production while competitors with newer equipment and lower prices are taking market share.

Mataruka acknowledged the pressure, saying:

“Competition happens in business all the time. But as a builder, we believe that we are best-placed to drive the construction sector forward in line with government’s objective of infrastructure development.”

Yet the competitive landscape has continued to change. New manufacturers, including foreign-backed operators, have entered the market, while WestProp has invested about US$1 million in a brick-manufacturing facility using modern technology.

The squeeze is therefore not simply about demand. It is about who has the capacity and cost structure to satisfy that demand.

Willdale has recognised the problem and has been pursuing a more efficient production plant. In its 2025 results, Mataruka said plant utilisation averaged only 40%, down from 62% the previous year, largely because working-capital shortages disrupted supplies of raw materials and critical maintenance spares.

The company has consequently looked to its land bank for funding. In 2026, Willdale said proceeds from land sales would help finance production and operations, highlighting just how dependent the manufacturing business has become on unlocking value from non-core assets.

For Willdale, the 44% increase in fired production in the latest quarter is encouraging because it suggests that output can recover when constraints ease. But the 4% decline in sales shows that the recovery is still incomplete.

Meanwhile, competition is becoming more sophisticated and price-sensitive.

The danger is that if Willdale cannot secure sufficient working capital and modernise production quickly, the construction boom could actually accelerate the transfer of market share from established producers to newer, better-capitalised manufacturers.

That would be a significant shift in an industry where Willdale has historically been one of the dominant names.

It also explains why the company remains bullish about demand despite weak financial performance.