Chamwe Kaira
Retailer, Choppies Namibia recorded revenue of 443 million Botswana Pula (N$615 million) for the year ended 30 June 2023. Choppies runs 14 stores in Namibia.
Choppies was established in the town of Lobatse in Botswana in 1986 and a massive expansion effort was begun in 2003. Choppies said retail sales in Namibia reached 440 million Botswana Pula (N$611 million).
Choppies said Botswana and Namibia marginally grew gross profit rates while rates in Zambia and Zimbabwe declined.
The retailer said Namibia has successfully turned around with sales growth of 60.0% and like-for-like sales growth of 14.4%. Five new stores were opened during the year in Namibia.
Choppies said Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) in Namibia grew 140% with EBIT loss reducing from BWP9 million to BWP2 million.
“Adjusted EBIT, excluding the depreciation reassessment, reduced from BWP9 million to BWP6 million,” the company commented on Namibia.
Ramachandran Ottapathu, CEO and foremost Choppies shareholder said pessimism has been wiped out thanks to the recent rights issue of BWP300m (N$415m) and trading profits, and there is a cheerful outlook now underpinning the one beleaguered company.
The group’s retail sales increased by 6.5% to BWP6 433 million (2022: BWP6 042 million), driven by sixteen new stores coupled with price growth of 6.8%. Sales volumes increased by 1.6% and excluding the new stores declined by 4.6% on a comparable basis.
In Pula terms, gross profit grew by 4.0% to BWP1 359 million (2022: BWP1 307 million) despite the challenging economic environment.
The gross profit margin was accordingly reduced to 21.1% from last year’s 21.6% due to higher supply chain costs, including fuel and managing prices in response to higher cost inflation and competitor discounting.
Choppies’ primary listing is on the Botswana Stock Exchange, and its secondary listing is on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange. Each week, approximately 2 million customers visit 177 stores under five formats in the four countries.
With annual revenue of more than BWP6 billion, Choppies employs 10 000 people
