Sunday, February 9, 2025

Wilderness Holdings remains cautious despite good results

Wilderness Holdings Limited, the giant tourism outfit listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) and┬á Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), said it is “cautiously optimistic” about the┬á global economic recovery that is expected to bolster its financial stance.

The company announced P 27.7 million profit for the full year to February 28, 2013, which was underpinned by the demand recovery from the United States.

“We expect to see a slow but steady strengthening of our major source market the United States, with a muted recovery from source markets in Europe against a back drop of uncertainty in the world economy,” it said.

 The Pan-African tourism outfit turnover from its 59 camps leapt up 13 percent to P 1.2 billion.

“The net effect of the above factors is that EBITDA was P 108.9 million up to 40 percent from P 77.8 million in the prior year.

“Impairment losses amounted to P 14 million, mostly arising from the damage to the asset of Pafuri camp in South Africa,” the company said. However, it managed to get P13 million insurance claim for the Pafuri assets bolstering its┬ágains┬áto P 22 million.

However, it said the impact of the demand recovery from the United States was blighted by Euro zone economic crisis and local inflationary pressure.

A good number of countries in the┬áEurozone┬áhave been a subject of bail-outs from the international┬áfinancial institutions. On the other hand, local inflationÔÇöwhich is┬áa ruthless unlegislated form of tax — has been way out of the Central Bank’s┬átarget margin of three-to- six percent.

Wilderness Holdings said despite the good performance compared to the previous corresponding period bed nights sales slumped by 3.7 percent to 182 764 for the year. It attributed the move to permanent closure of non-performing camps and the temporary closure of some for maintenance.

“If we normalise┬áfor these closures, we achieved one percent increase in bed nights,” the company said in fully results┬ápublished on Monday.

Wilderness Holdings said┬áover the year it has been engaged in refurbishment of its lodges and camps in a bid to meet its┬ácustomers’ experience. It also opened Duma Tau camp in Botswana and two new camps in the Odzala-Kokoua national park in the Republic of Congo.

Wilderness Holdings operates in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe under the brand Wilderness Safaris. It declares dividend of four thebe per share which will be paid out by June 24, 2013 for shareholder registered by June 21 on the BSE register. And shareholders on Johannesburg Securities Exchange the last day of trading shall be June 13.

It traded flat at 204 thebe per share at close of business on Monday.

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