Nictus Namibia, home at last

By: JO-MARÉ DUDDY

NICTUS, the 67-year icon on the local business landscape, on Friday celebrated the geographical unbundling of the group by again listing on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), but this time on the main board of the bourse.

The group has enjoyed a secondary listing on the NSX since 1992, with its primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The new independent Namibian business listed on the NSX as Nictus Holdings Limited (Nictus Namibia), while the South African business remained listed on the JSE.

Nictus group managing director Nico Tromp, also a former chairman of the NSX, described Friday’s primary listing as a “great moment”. 

“Nictus is a Namibian company, but we were South Africanised [through the JSE listing], and had to work our way back,” Tromp said. “From this day, Nictus will belong to Namibians again,” he said.

Nictus Holdings newly elected chairman, Hannes Retief said the board took an extensive strategic review of the company and its current Namibian and South African operations. 

“We have concluded that it is preferable for the Namibian and South African operations to be separately listed on the respective stock exchanges of the countries in which they operate. In order to achieve this objective, the board has decided to unbundle its Namibian operations and list them separately on the NSX. 

“The unbundling and simultaneous listing of Nictus Namibia on the NSX will enhance the strategic flexibility of the Namibian operations and South African operations and will enable the two separately listed entities to embark on their own strategy to grow within their respective commercial and regulatory environments. Nictus will retain its secondary listing on the NSX,” Retief said. 

The board believes that the unbundling will further enhance Nictus shareholder value by giving shareholders improved exposure to the intrinsic value of the two separately listed entities, he said.

Nictus Namibia is the holding company of a group of companies, which retail automobiles, furniture and provides financial and insurance services in Namibia. 

Nictus Namibia, under the name of Auas Motors, also operates the General Motors South Africa (GMSA) dealership throughout Namibia. The financial services division of the Nictus Namibia Group is run through Corporate Guarantee, which brings a unique approach to short term insurance through the alternative risk transfer model. 

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