Observer Money

Niël Terblanché Motorists, along with consumers across the country, will breathe a little easier at the pumps in April following the government’s announcement of a reduction in fuel prices. Effective Wednesday, 2 April, the price of petrol will drop by 50 cents per litre, while both 50ppm diesel and 10ppm diesel will be reduced by 80 cents per litre. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the lower prices are the result of over-recoveries recorded during March. “The fuel pricing model recorded over-recoveries of 58.77 cents per litre for petrol, 82.88 cents per litre for…

Niël Terblanché The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) has appointed Victoria Sibeya as acting managing director, following the conclusion of Ebson Uanguta’s interim tenure. Uanguta, who served NAMCOR in an acting capacity for over a year, will return to his former position at the Bank of Namibia. In a statement on Friday, Florentia Amuenje, the chairperson of the NAMCOR board of directors acknowledged Uanguta’s contribution during what it described as a critical period for the organisation. “Mr Uanguta provided steadfast leadership, guiding the organisation through a critical phase and playing an instrumental role in steering NAMCOR towards the continued…

CHAMWE KAIRA  The country’s gross domestic product rose from N$155 billion to N$157.4 billion in 2024, marking a 3.7% year-on-year increase.  The result was slightly above Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) forecast of 3.5% for the fourth quarter. RMB, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, said Namibia’s real GDP growth reached 3.7% by the end of 2024, higher than the 2.9% recorded in the third quarter.  The growth was driven by better performance in the secondary sector due to higher manufacturing output and stronger demand for storage. The country’s economy exceeded expectations in 2024, with the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) annual…

CHAMWE KAIRA  Paladin Energy expects production at its Langer Heinrich mine to improve in the second half of 2025 through blending ore from open-pit mines. However, floods in the Erongo Region have delayed the start of mining and damaged parts of the site. As a result, the company no longer expects to reach its target of six million pounds of uranium production by the end of 2025. “The acceleration of mining was a key initiative in offsetting the underperformance of stockpile ore and achieving nameplate production. The LHM team continues to drive operational improvements and progress in mining. Improved water…

CHAMWE KAIRA  The Trans-Kalahari Border Post between Namibia and Botswana must harmonise, standardise procedures, provide adequate and reliable information and come up with structural adjustments to adeduaretly cater for traffic. This is according to a recent study that was commissioned by the Namibia Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade.  The study comes at a time when the two countries are planning to develop the Trans-Kalahari Railway project, a 1500-kilometre railway line aimed at linking Botswana’s mineral resources with Namibia’s Atlantic port at Walvis Bay.  The Namibian Ports Authority recently stated that the absence of rail connections to…

CHAMWE KAIRA  Pepkor has signed a transaction agreement with Retailability Proprietary Limited to acquire the Legit, Swagga, Style, and Boardmans businesses. These businesses will be added to Pepkor’s Speciality business unit, which already includes Tekkie Town, Shoe City, Dunns, Refinery, CODE, SPCC, and Ayana. Pepkor Speciality operates 941 stores across South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini. Retailability is a privately owned retail group offering affordable apparel and lifestyle products. The acquired brands operate 462 stores in the same five countries. The Edgars, Edgars Beauty, Red Square, Kelso, and Keedo brands are not part of the deal and will remain…

CHAMWE KAIRA  Simonis Storm Securities said FirstRand Namibia’s earnings growth remains solid, but rising credit impairments and margin pressure are cause for caution. In a recent report, the firm said the second half of the year is likely to be weaker due to higher provisioning costs and a decline in base effects.  Despite this, strong capital buffers and diverse revenue streams support the bank’s stability and position it well for a changing economic environment. FirstRand Namibia posted strong interim results, driven by loan book growth, disciplined cost control, and resilient non-interest income. “The economic backdrop remains favourable, with rate cuts…

Namibia Breweries Limited disclosed that according to paragraph 3.4 (b) of the Listing requirements of the Namibia Securities Exchange, shareholders were advised that the group’s operating profit for the eighteen months, ended 31 December 2024, is expected to increase by between 110% and 115% compared to the twelve-month comparative financial period.  “This increase is driven by strong performance from the new portfolio. Over the eighteen-month period, growth was constrained by higher net financing costs and increased tax expenses, leading to a more moderate increase in headline earnings of between 91% and 96%,” the company said.  The company said as a…

CHAMWE KAIRA  Debmarine Namibia, the country’s largest taxpayer, faced a difficult year in 2024 due to falling international diamond prices and weak economic conditions in major markets such as the US, China, and India. The market instability forced the company to reduce its diamond production and shorten its market forecast window from two years to just two months. Debmarine presented the global outlook and its impact on natural diamond demand to stakeholders in Windhoek recently. Chief executive officer Willy Mertens said the global growth outlook remains stable but noted that US tariffs continue to create uncertainty.  He said there was…

CHAMWE KAIRA  The Namibian uranium industry continues to benefit from strong global demand for nuclear energy, driven by efforts to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy security. Decarbonisation refers to reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from processes such as manufacturing and energy production. Paladin Energy said in a presentation that nuclear energy is the second-largest source of global clean energy and produces almost no carbon emissions. In the United States, nuclear power supplies nearly half of clean energy. During COP28 and COP29, 31 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, and France, committed to tripling nuclear power capacity by…