NPTH reports revenue of N$4.3 bn

PHILLEPUS UUSIKU – State-owned Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings (NPTH), the 100%-holding company of Telecom Namibia, NamPost and MTC, reported a net profit of N$911 million for its 2019 financial year.

The public enterprise had its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday and shared selected financial results with the media. A request from Market Watch yesterday to provide comparative figures for NPTH’s 2018 book-year wasn’t met at the time of going to press.

In a media statement on Wednesday, NPTH chairperson, Sencia Kaizemi-Rukata, said overall, NPTH as a company had a total asset base of N$4 billion and total group assets with a net book value of N$12.5 billion at the end of September 2019.

For the financial period under review, the company’s revenue amounted to N$603 million. The main sources of revenue were dividends received of N$427 million and rental income of N$175 million. NPTH generates a revenue of approximately N$148 million annually from various revenue streams excluding dividends received from its subsidiaries, Kaizemi-Rukata said.

The NPTH group’s total revenue generated amounted to N$4.3 billion.

The company’s operational expenses stood at N$193 million, a reduction from N$397 million incurred in the previous year. The company registered a profit of N$540 million in the period under review, she said.

As for the group, operational expenses stood at N$3.4 billion.

DIVIDENDS

NPTH declared N$200 million in ordinary dividends to government for 2019. A special dividend of N$500 million was also declared, while N$60 million was donated to government’s drought relief programme.

This brings the total dividends paid in 2018/19 to N$760 million, Kaizemi-Rukata said. To date, the group has declared total dividends of N$2 billion to government, its sole shareholder.

Speaking at the AGM, Kaizemi-Rukata stressed on the significant role ICT plays in an economy as an enabler to enhance economic growth and development.

“At the present time, ICT has become an integral of our economy. NPTH continues to play a significant role and has substantial impact on the economic performance of our country, particularly when combined with investment in skills, organisational change and innovation,” she said.

NPTH is one of the biggest property company’s in Namibia, owning 123 properties countrywide, of which 99 were acquired through government grants and the remaining 24 were privately acquired.

During the 2019 financial period, the company maintained 98% occupancy of its buildings which is dominated by its three entities and the remaining by private entities.

Furthermore, the company has a default rate of less than 10% from its property management and administrative revenue stream.

KEY DRIVERS

Transparency, accountability, fairness and social responsibility are of paramount importance in the group. “Good corporate governance guarantees superior performance and enhanced shareholder value,” Kaizemi-Rukata said.

In addition, an aggressive market penetration strategy is key to sustainable business proposition.

“The group has embarked on an aggressive strategy to enable us to have wider and increased footprint across the country to ensure 100% population network and continuous product improvements,” she added.

Lastly, the group seeks to ensure effective and efficient service delivery through constant cost reduction measures.

“Hence, those three drivers have enabled the group to realise benefits as shown by the N$200 million dividends declared to government,” Kaizemi-Rukata said.