CAPRICORN Investment Group, the owners of Bank Windhoek, have bought a 30% stake in information and technology company Paratus Africa Group for N$252 million.
The group announced this with the release of their 2019 reviewed financial statements that show the group made an after-tax profit of N$1,015 billion from the five sectors in which it operates.
“The group acquired a 30% stake in Paratus by acquiring existing shares in Paratus for US$2 million (N$30 million), and subscribing to new shares of US$14,5 million (N$221 million),” the group said.
While there has been much concentration on banking, the group’s profile now stretches to micro-finance, insurance, asset management and telecommunications in its portfolio of 15 companies.
With banking still key to the group, income from lending activities stood at N$4,7 billion, increasing from N$4,2 billion, while that from deposits and transactions, annual fees and others were at N$1,3 billion, up from N$1,2 billion recorded last year.
Net interest income increased by 17,3%, with Bank Windhoek contributing about 8,3%.
Other than Bank Windhoek, the group has Capricorn Asset Management (Pty) Ltd, Capricorn Unit Trust Management Company Ltd, Mukumbi Investments Ltd, Capricorn Capital (Pty) Ltd, Capricorn Investment Group (Pty) Ltd, Capricorn Mobile (Pty) Ltd, and Namib Bou (Pty) Ltd, all fully-owned subsidiaries.
Other partly-owned companies include Cavmont Capital Holdings Zambia Plc, in which the group has a 97,9% interest, 55,5% in Entrepo Holdings (Pty) Ltd, and an 84,3% shareholding in Capricorn Investment Holdings (Botswana) Ltd.
Associate companies include 29,5% in Sanlam Namibia Holdings (Pty) Ltd, 28% of Santam Namibia Ltd, and 30% in Nimbus Infrastructure Ltd, which brought to the group about N$72 million, down from N$83 million recorded last year.
Operating expenses for the year stood at N$2,05 billion, a 14,3% increase from N$1,7 billion, which was attributed to Entrepo’s staff costs and building capacity programmes within the group.
The group boasts a loan book of N$38 billion, which is about 40% of the total banking industry, according to 2018 total figures from the central bank. Non-performing loans increased by 60%, which the group attributed to five well-secured loans, and now stand at N$1,6 billion, or 4,2%, which is slightly above the 4% central bank ceiling.
Impairment on loans also went up to N$114 million from N$80 million, which is largely attributed to the IFRS 9 adjustment.
The group has N$3,4 billion in treasury bills, N$728 million in government bonds and N$1,36 billion in unit trust investments.
According to Bank of Namibia statistics, banks have kept the government afloat over the years, largely taking up more treasury bills year after year.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year stood at a healthy N$5,7 billion.
Although there is a slight decline in the capital adequacy ratio, the group was healthy at a total of 14,9% from 15,4% recorded last year.
The group also confirmed that they had a few pending legal or potential claims, the outcome of which could not be seen at year-end.
“These claims are not regarded as material, either on an individual or group basis,” the financial statements read.
On after-tax profit, Namibian banking operations contributed N$797 million of the profit, followed by N$171 million profit from Entrepo, and a N$59 million profit from Bank Gaborone. Bank Cavmont made a loss of N$13 million, a 70% improvement from a N$36 million loss recorded in 2018.
The group has announced a final dividend of 36 cents per ordinary share, with the last day to trade set for 6 September, and payment envisaged for 27 September 2019.
The full reviewed financial statements are available on the group’s website.
Email: lazarus@namibian.com.na
Twitter: @Lasarus_A
In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
