CHAMWE KAIRA
Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) is working on several capital infrastructure projects including the renovation of Popa Falls, retouching the walking decks for Olifantrus and the upgrading of Halali Resort’s honeymoon rooms with splash pools and also renovating of the Gross Barmen resort.
Popa Falls Resort is situated on the banks of the Okavango river and a short distance from the Okavango Pan Handle.
Halali Resort is located halfway between Okaukuejo and Namutoni in Etosha National Park. The Olifantsrus Camp is a campsite in Etosha National Park. Its located in the northwestern part of the park between Okaukuejo and Dolomite Camp. There are ten campsites, and a maximum of eight people can stay on one site.
Managing Director, Matthias Ngwangwama disclosed this when responding to questions by Observer Money this following the announcement this week that the NWR has made a historic N$46 million profit and a clean audit report for two consecutive years.
Ngwangwama attributed the profit to many strategies combined. He added that prudent financial management and governance, containing costs, managing employee costs and the wage bill, revisiting of its procurement strategy, and remodeling of costs, led to the company recording a profit.
“We continue to build on the lessons learned. 2024 will be even better. We have strategies in place that will allow for the better improvement,” said Ngwangwama.
On what factors will influence the financial performance in 2024, he said that one can never really predict micro and macro-economic conditions. “I mean; you saw what Covid disruption did to every industry.”
Asked about what other State Owned Enterprises must do to become profitable, Ngwangwama said the company must know and pursue their objectives and stay on course to achieve them. “The negative perceptions about SOEs should not deter anyone,” he said.
NWR saw revenue increase by 32%, from N$294 million in 2022 to N$387 million in 2023. The overall bottom line was reduced by 231%, from a loss of (N$35) million in 2022 to a record profit of N$46 million in 2023.
The company has continued to invest in its capital infrastructure. Repairs and maintenance was N$27 million [2022: N$23 million].
The company’s financial performance continued to show resilience in 2023. In particular, long-term loans, statutory loans to financial development and commercial institutions, and tax authorities, which were long-standing challenges in the past, were fully settled in 2023, and the company attained a long-term debt-free status.
