2008-06-25Staff Report 2 "By Catherine Sasman WINDHOEK Eqstra Fleet Services Namibia was launched in Windhoek last Thursday, after unbundling from Imperial Holdings in April. Eqstra was an integral part of Imperial Holdings for 25 years. It is now a separate company that is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of N$3.2 billion. The company consists of three asset clusters that provide a complete mobility chain in passenger and commercial leasing, industrial equipment and construction and mining division. In 2007, Eqstra had a turnover of N$5.6 billion with an asset base of N$7.6 billion. It has fully operational branches in Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, with more than 3 000 vehicles. Walter Hill, CEO of Eqstra Holdings, said the unbundling was due to the company's growth. ""The business has reached a substantial size with over 6 000 employees. Over the last couple of years, we have outgrown the Imperial balance sheet. The highly geared nature of our balance sheet stood out and a decision was made to list us separately,"" Hill said. Eqstra raised N$8 billion funding package prior to the unbundling, which Hill said caters for the company's future growth ambitions. ""We have a great ambition to grow Eqstra into a market leader in Africa and systematically expand internationally,"" Hill commented. Imperial Fleet Services was registered in Namibia in 2000 and started out merely servicing South African companies with branches here. In 2004, Imperial went into a black economic empowerment partnership with Epia Investments, forming the Omatemba Fleet Services, with Imperial holding 70 percent stake in Omatemba. Omatemba has since been successfully contracted by the Ministry of Works and Transport, and delivered 858 vehicles within six weeks. The contract has since been concluded, with all vehicles de-fleeted. New clients of Omatemba include Roads Contractor Company, Hangana Seafood, Distell Namibia and the MVA Fund. " 2008-06-25Staff Report 2
