| Wed 29 Feb 2012, 11:00 | | BILETS - Letshego Holdings Limited - Trading Announcement - Year end financial |
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JSE
BILETS
BILETS - Letshego Holdings Limited - Trading Announcement - Year end financial
results and general update
Letshego Holdings Limited
Incorporated in the Republic of Botswana
Registration number 98/442
("Letshego Holdings" or "the Company")
This announcement is being released on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for
information purposes only in respect of Letshego Holdings Limited`s Note
Programme
Trading Announcement - Year End Financial Results And General Update
Letshego Holdings Limited is a leading provider of unsecured consumer loans, is
listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange, is IFSC accredited and has operations in
Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The Board of Directors of the Company would like to provide an update to
Shareholders that the results for the financial year ended 31 January 2012 will
generally be in line with the growth recorded for the interim period.
Specifically:
* Profit before tax is expected to be 14% higher than the prior financial
year
* Profit after tax is expected to be 24% higher than the prior financial year
* Loans and advances to customers have exceeded P3 billion, a 32% increase on
the prior financial year
* The loan book outside of Botswana now represents 40% of total loans (2011:
33%)
* Impairment charge remains below 2% of average advances to customers
* Cost to income ratio remains below 25%
* Return on average assets is expected to be at least 20%
* Return on average equity is expected to be at least 29%
* Debt to equity ratio is 34% at 31 January 2012 with shareholders` funds
over P2.3 billion
As communicated to Shareholders on 4 November 2011 no changes to the collection
methodology in Botswana have occurred since August 2011. The operations of the
Central Registries in Botswana continue as normal and collections remain at
historical levels via the deduction at source basis.
All subsidiaries continue to perform well with Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania,
Uganda and Zambia exceeding budgeted targets. The subsidiary in Mozambique,
which commenced trading during February 2011, has performed very well for a
start-up operation and started to make a monthly operating profit from August
2011 onwards.
The agreement to acquire 62.52% of Micro Africa Limited was signed during
February 2012 and regulatory approval in Kenya is now awaited before
completion of the acquisition. This will add Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan to
the operations of the Letshego group.
Letshego has recently been awarded a deduction code in Lesotho and is already
licensed as a non-deposit taking credit institution with the Central Bank of
Lesotho. This will allow Letshego Financial Services Lesotho, a 95% subsidiary
of Letshego Holdings Limited, the opportunity to commence operations in Lesotho
during the 2012/13 financial year and to further add to the Letshego footprint
in the continent.
In line with Botswana Stock Exchange listing requirements, the Company will
publish the final audited financial results, once the external audit is
finalized and all internal governance processes are completed, for the year
ended 31 January 2012 which is expected to be on or around 26 April 2012.
Gaborone
29 February 2012
Debt sponsor in South Africa
Renaissance BJM Securities (Pty) Ltd
Sponsoring broker in Botswana
Stockbrokers Botswana Limited
Date: 29/02/2012 11:00:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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