Letshego Holdings Namibia Ltd (LHN) secured the 2023 Best Locally Listed Company title at the prestigious Namibia Top Company Awards ceremony in Windhoek recently. Organised annually by Cirrus Capital and judged by an independent panel, the awards ceremony seeks to recognise the exceptional achievements of Namibian companies.
Ester Kali, CEO of Letshego Holdings Namibia, expressed her delight at this independent industry recognition.
She emphasised that this award denotes Letshego Holdings Namibia’s unwavering commitment to exemplary corporate governance and sustainable growth in its day-to-day operations, while delivering social and economic benefits to more Namibians.
Despite economic challenges faced during the 2022 financial year, including higher interest rates, reduced affordability and intensified competition in lending rates, Letshego achieved remarkable results.
Profit after tax grew by an impressive 16%, and deposits increased from N$386 million in 2021 to N$536 million in 2022.
Furthermore, the company distributed a final dividend of 44.89 cents per share on 15 June 2023, establishing a remarkable dividend yield of 18.7%, the highest among NSX local tickers.
Dedicated efforts, innovation and the diversification of the product portfolio drove this success. Over the last two years, Letshego Namibia extended its services beyond government employees.
The group broadened its loan offerings and introduced low-cost transactional bank accounts and high-yield savings products, resulting in impressive growth and increased shareholder value.
The Best Locally Listed Company category spun around three fundamental assessment criteria: return, growth and investor relations management.
The return accounted for 60% of the overall assessment, including share price appreciation, dividend yield, net profit to market capitalisation and return on equity.
Growth contributed 20% to the overall score, considering revenue and profit growth.
Investor Relations made up the remaining 20% and was supported by a survey assessing interactions, the quality of information distributed to stakeholders and integrated reporting – all independently conducted by Cirrus.
“These stringent criteria and meticulous evaluation process underscored Letshego Namibia’s exceptional performance and unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance. The group has successfully integrated and implemented its Environmental, Social and Governance framework, which propels its daily operations towards sustainable and responsible practices.
Letshego Holdings Namibia is firm in its dedication to sustainable business practices and the generation of significant shareholder value,” read a statement from the Namibia Top Company Awards organisers.