Trustco Group, a diversified investment holding majority-owned and operated by Namibian businessman Quinton van Rooyen and his family, reported a loss of NAD988 million ($64.7 million) at the end of its 2021 fiscal year, which ended in August 2021.
It is the second year in a row that the diversified investment holding has posted losses, bringing its total losses from operations to NAD1.3 billion ($85.2 million) since April 2019.
As a result of the weak financial performance, its retained earnings fell from NAD2.8 billion ($183.4 million) to NAD1.9 billion ($124.5 million)
The multimillion-dollar loss can be attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the group’s operations, as revenue fell by more than 49 percent from NAD617.7 million ($40.5 million) the previous year to NAD312.3 million ($20.5 million) in 2021.
Van Rooyen, the group’s CEO and the majority shareholder in the Namibian investment holding, stated that 2021 was one of the most difficult years for the group due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting macroeconomic situation, which strongly impacted the group’s operations.
“We say this not to make excuses, but to record this fact in the historical record,” he added.
According to the annual report, the group experienced an increase in basic and headline losses of 228 and 201 percent, respectively. The company’s basic and headline losses increased to NAD872 million ($57.1 million) and NAD766 million ($50.2 million).
Meanwhile, its after-tax losses increased by 190 percent to NAD988 million ($64.7 million) from the previous year’s after-tax losses of NAD343 million ($22.5 million).
Trustco embarked on a restructuring move to avoid some losses resulting from its operations, which saw its staff size reduced by 269 employees during the year.
By the end of the reporting period, the group had gone five years without making a major corporate acquisition, a reflection of the challenging economic and business environment.
Trustco Group shares were trading at NAD1.17 ($0.0766) as of press time on Feb. 1, 1.74-percent higher than their opening price this morning.
Its current market capitalization is NAD1.86 billion ($121.9 million), while van Rooyen’s 63.97-percent stake is worth NAD1.19 billion ($78 million).
