Profit drops sweep BSE

According to a slew of cautionaries filed with the exchange in recent days, counters such as ABSA Botswana, BancABC Botswana, Cresta, G4S Botswana and RDC Properties are set to post reductions in profit for the full year ended December 2020, when they post their results at month-end.

ABSA Botswana has told investors to watch for up to 50% lower profit before tax or a reduction of P339 million due to higher credit provisions and impairments associated with the pandemic. BancABC meanwhile is expecting pretax profits to drop by up to P33 million for the full year 2020, while for the same reporting period, RDC Properties is forecasting up to 90% lower pretax profits or up to P146 million less than the previous corresponding period.