Paratus Namibia Holdings Ltd (PNH) says its after-tax profit increased by 18.4% to N$19.6 million for the interim period ended 31 December 2021.
This was after the group’s flagship unit, Paratus Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd Namibia, posted revenue growth of 17.3% y/y for the period to N$196.3 million, driven by non-recurring revenue growth of 73.2% y/y on a like-for-like basis to N$24.6 million, a position which the company management attributed to a local area network installation at a new property development project.
However, the company’s cost of sales for the period increased by 19.9% y/y to N$29.2 million. At the same time, PNH’s operating expenses increased by 8.9% y/y to N$67.5 million, due to an increase in bad debts to N$983,996, with employee costs well contained, increasing by 3.2% y/y to N$37.8 million.
Despite an increase in the group’s operating expenses, operating margin improved from 15.9% in 1H21 to 17.6% in 1H22, due to the quicker revenue growth.
In the period under review, PNH’s EBITDA rose by 25.2% y/y to N$60.8 million, leading to an EBITDA margin of 31.0%, compared to 29.0% in 1H21.
Borrowings, made up of the two bonds issued in 2021, remained steady at N$200 million.
The group’s total assets grew by 24.4% y/y to N$945.4 million, driven mainly by a N$118.6 million or 57.9% y/y increase in property, plant, and equipment (PPE) to N$514.4 million attributed to infrastructure investments of N$147.7 million during the period.
During this period, N$75.4 million was invested in the fibre network, of which N$8 million was invested in the rollout of the fibre network in Namibia’s northern towns and N$15 million was invested towards expanding the current fibre network in the coastal towns.
Investments in the LTE networks in Windhoek, the coastal towns, and the northern regions come in at N$11 million, with N$34.8 million being invested in the completed Cable Landing Station in Swakopmund.
Armada Data Centre investment came in at N$50.4 million during the period under review, which is projected to be finished in the third quarter of 2022 for a total cost of N$123 million.
“Paratus Namibia has funded 40% of the total capital investment from operational cash flows, which includes the Data Centre project. The investment in infrastructure bodes well for the group, evident from the improvement in the EBITDA margin emanating from the cost saving realized by using own infrastructure ,as well as adding customers to existing infrastructure,” the company said.
The group’s Basic EPS rose by 14.7% y/y to 39.5 cps, while HEPS increased by 21.5% y/y to 39.5cps.
An interim dividend of 10 cps was declared for the period.
