The local market was quite active this week, with the NSX Local index down 0.1% at 597, and the NSX Overall Index down 4.06% at 1159.
As at 3 March, Namibia Breweries was the largest local company on the exchange, with market capitalization of N$ 9.7 billion, followed by FirstRand Namibia with N$ 8.9 billion, Capricorn Investment Group with N$ 7.9 billion, and Trustco Group with N$ 5.1 billion.
In terms of volume Standard Bank Holdings Namibia lead the market with N$ 18.4 million worth of shares traded, with Namibia Breweries in second place with N$ 3.6 million worth of shares traded.
The local currency lost 2.34% against the US Dollar, to close at N$ 15.58 per USD, and lost 0.91% against the British Pound, to close at N$ 19.97 per GBP. It closed at N$ 17.41 against the Euro, a loss of 5.12%.
Letshego Holdings Namibia released their unaudited provisional annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, revealing that revenue was down 2% from the prior year, and net profit after tax decreased by 3.8% to N$ 451 million.
As a result, both basic and headline earnings per share decreased by 4% to 90c per share. Non-performing loans increased to 4.9% from 3.6% a year earlier, with staff and operational expenses increasing by 10%.
However, advanced to customers increased by 14% over the year. Letshego indicated that the lack of bottom-line growth is the result of the country’s economic environment, with regulatory changes and increased competition set to put pressure on their interest margins.
They are continuing their focus on cost discipline and capital optimisation during the next year to enable sustainable delivery of their inclusive finance agenda.
