Denel Land Systems’ profits increased from R139 million in 2015/16 to R174 million for 2016/17 on the back of a number of important contracts, the Denel annual report has revealed.
The company earned R2.675 billion in revenue in 2016/17, of which R1.955 billion came from export contacts. This compares to R2.603 billion in revenue in 2015/16 and R1.762 billion in export revenue.
Local developments included the “buy-off” of “three artillery platforms for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF); the commencement of industrialisation and production of the Badger infantry fighting vehicle family for the South African Army; the development of the lightweight DMG-5 (SS-77) machinegun; and the achievement of a major contract milestone with the successful installation of a Military Image Interpretation Computer Systems (MIICS) and associated training system for the South African Air Force in the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC) at AFB Waterkloof.
Internationally, Denel Land Systems achieved major milestones with the Malaysian AV8 programme with delivery to the client of LCT30 light combat turrets, anti-tank guided weapon turrets and remote controlled weapon station turret (RCWS) systems.
Mechem, part of the Denel Land Systems family, in 2016/17 cleared large tracts of land and roads of mines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) through various demining or ERW clearing projects in several African countries; expanded its field facility services to include engineering support in South Sudan and catering services for the UAE embassy in Mogadishu; and successfully completed a SANParks canine contract: Mechem provided 16 trained dog teams to operate in the Kruger National Park, and currently also provides canine cargo detection services to many freight forwarders to two of South Africa’s major international airports.
Mechem saw continued interest in its Casspir armoured vehicle family, with the UN awarding six contracts to the company, which also recently delivered the first 25 Casspirs to the Angolan armed forces.