Paratus Namibia records revenue growth of N$148.3 million
The increase in internet data usage during lockdowns and the roll-out of its infrastructure throughout the country played in the interest of listed telecommunications operator, Paratus Namibia in the financial year ended June 2020.
According to the financials released this week, Paratus Namibia recorded N$431,9 million in revenue and profit after tax of N$25,4 million in the financial year ended June 2020.
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.
The company said while there was a 6.5% immediate revenue risk from the tourism industry which was under Covid-19 lockdowns from March, 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.
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 Fiber and deployment of LTE sites (fixed and wireless).
Capital expenditure approved investments of the company will include an N$150 million towards further revenue growth, the construction of Tier-3 vendor neutral Data Center in Windhoek to the value of N$120 million and lastly, the construction of a Cable Landing Station for Google’s Equiano subsea cable, totalling a further N$33 million.
“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,” Paratus Group Chief Executive, Barney Harmse said.
Paratus Group Chief Financial Officer, Stefan de Bruin said 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.
“We are pleased with the performance and resilience we have demonstrated throughout the financial year; 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,” de Bruin said.
Caption: f.l.t.r: Colwyn van Rensburg (Group Chief Development Officer); Gert Duvenhage (Executive: Infrastructure & ICT Operations); Stefan de Bruin (Group Chief Financial Officer); Barney Harmse (Group Chief Executive Officer); Schalk Erasmus (Group Chief Operating Officer); Nadine van Rooi (Executive: Legal / HR); Andrew Hall (Managing Director)
