• Home
  • BUSINESS
  • Paratus announces solid annual financial results
Paratus announces solid annual financial results
Paratus announces solid annual financial results

Paratus announces solid annual financial results

The gross profit margin increased from 47.5% to 49.4% mainly due to the roll-out of own infrastructure.
Phillepus Uusiku
PHILLEPUS UUSIKU



Listed telecommunications operator, Paratus Namibia Holdings Ltd (PNH), announced its annual financial results yesterday for the period ended 30 June 2020.

PNH delivered commendable revenue of N$431.9 million and profit after tax of N$25.4 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation also went up 53 percent to N$101.2 million on a 12 months like-for-like basis.

The gross profit margin increased from 47.5% to 49.4% mainly due to the roll-out of own infrastructure. The financial results announced cover a longer financial period of 16 months due to the change in the group's year-end from February to June.

“We are in a very privileged position to be able to yield substantially higher results than last year driven by a combination of revenue growth, improved operating margins and cost management.

The higher profit after tax and cash flows from operations have enabled the board to declare a final dividend of 10c in addition to the maiden dividend of 10c per ordinary share declared in May 2020,” said Paratus Group CFO Stefan de Bruin.



Covid-19 Impact

The impact of the global pandemic coupled with the lockdowns and regulatory restrictions that were imposed resulted in several changes in the market. There was a 6.5% immediate revenue risk from the tourism industry that was under lockdown from March 2020.

However, with many businesses implementing their business continuity plans, numerous employees from different industries had to work from home resulting in a significant increase in data top-up revenue and new connections.

“I am extremely proud of our team who have positively navigated through this challenging time and to deliver such great results. Despite the adverse effects of the pandemic, our core operations, team and network have performed exceedingly well throughout, especially considering the significant changes in customer's usage patterns and the added demands on our network.” said Paratus Namibia managing director Andrew Hall.



Looking forward

The health crisis has shown the importance of telecommunications for the economy and while impacted, the network operator remains committed to the strategies that will be implemented for future growth, including the rollout of fibre and deployment of LTE sites (fixed and wireless).

CAPEX approved investments will include N$150 million towards further revenue growth, the construction of Tier-3 vendor neutral data centre in Windhoek to the value of N$120 million and lastly, the construction of a CLS (Cable Landing Station) for Google's Equiano subsea cable, totalling a further N$33 million.

Paratus Group CEO Barney Harmse said, “Our results are reflective of our agility, commitment and resilience to maintain and deliver exceptional customer service. Further to that, the investments in infrastructure is a key enabler for us to be a driver and positively contribute towards economic growth in Namibia.”

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-11-23

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Katima Mulilo: 20° | 36° Rundu: 20° | 37° Eenhana: 22° | 36° Oshakati: 25° | 35° Ruacana: 22° | 36° Tsumeb: 23° | 36° Otjiwarongo: 22° | 35° Omaruru: 23° | 36° Windhoek: 23° | 34° Gobabis: 23° | 35° Henties Bay: 14° | 19° Swakopmund: 14° | 16° Walvis Bay: 13° | 20° Rehoboth: 23° | 35° Mariental: 24° | 38° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 39° Aranos: 28° | 38° Lüderitz: 13° | 25° Ariamsvlei: 23° | 40° Oranjemund: 13° | 21° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 22° | 36° Lubumbashi: 17° | 32° Mbabane: 18° | 31° Maseru: 16° | 32° Antananarivo: 17° | 31° Lilongwe: 22° | 33° Maputo: 23° | 31° Windhoek: 23° | 34° Cape Town: 17° | 27° Durban: 20° | 25° Johannesburg: 19° | 31° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 22° | 33° Harare: 21° | 31° #REF! #REF!