Letshego's Profit After Tax Down 2%
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday September 9, 2019 11:10
Presenting the group’s half-year results, interim group CEO, Dumisani Ndebele said the financial performance for the listed consumer lender in the six months to June 2019 was within expectations.
Ndebele said they expect the company’s financial fundamentals to remain robust over the next 12- to 18-month horizon, despite risks associated with its regional expansion.
“There is currently no appetite for any new acquisitions. A comprehensive rationalisation and optimisation of all aspects of the group have commenced and expected to be complemented in the second half of 2019,” he said.
According to the CEO, this will depend on geographics, products, channel levels and may result in certain countries, having products and channels being discontinued over time.
He said, the group has made good progress in the three focus areas this year being reduction in the cost to income ratio, cost of credit risk and effective tax rate.
The first half of the year has seen Letshego achieve alignment with performance compared to the corresponding period last year, while achieving a positive improvement on the second half of 2018.
“The business is undergoing a period of review to ensure we leverage and maximise high potential business streams, mitigate unnecessary rising costs, and entrench our comprehensive risk management framework,” he said.
He added that Letshego’s business fundamentals are strong and they intend to maximise the opportunities for long-term growth, and look forward to sharing further strategic progress in the second half of the year.
Through its 11-country presence across Southern, East and West Africa its subsidiaries provide simple, appropriate and accessible consumer, microfinance and savings solutions to the financially under-served.
Letshego has presence in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.
To date, Letshego is Botswana’s largest indigenous group with a market capitalisation of approximately $500 million, placing it in the top 50 listed sub-Saharan African companies.