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Far Property, a Botswana-based real estate development firm led by multimillionaire businessman Ramachandran Ottapathu, has reported a single-digit drop in profit in the first half of its 2022 fiscal year, as the group continues to grapple with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the real estate sector.
Far Property manages around 170 properties in Botswana, South Africa and Zambia, mostly warehouses and shopping complexes, as well as retail, residential, commercial and industrial properties for rent.
Ottapathu and his long-term business partner, Farouk Ismail, established the firm in June 2010 with the aim of building a portfolio of properties that could meet the needs of Botswana’s largest retailer, Choppies Group.
Figures contained in its earnings report for the six-month period revealed that profits declined from BWP54.86 million ($4.74 million) in the first half of 2021 to BWP50.23 million ($4.34 million) in the same period of 2022.
Earnings fell by 8.44 percent during the period under review despite a four-percent rise in revenue from BWP67.5 million ($5.84 million) to BWP69.98 million ($6.05 million), as a 19-percent increase in operating expenses weighed heavily on earnings.
In an effort to place the real estate company on the path of sustainable revenue and earnings growth, the management stated that four new projects and one acquisition will be completed before the end of the current financial year.
The company’s property portfolio was valued at BWP1.37 billion ($118.53 million) as of Dec. 31, 2021, a 1.23-percent decrease from the previous year’s valuation of BWP1.38 billion ($119.74 million).
As a result of the difficult operating enviroment, the real estate developer’s assets declined from BWP1.48 billion ($127.82 million) a year ago to BWP1.45 billion ($125.58 million).
At the closing of trading on the Botswana Stock Exchange on March 1, the company’s shares closed at a price of BWP2.45 ($0.2117).
The firm is currently worth BWP1.13 billion ($97.7 million), while Ottapathu’s 27-percent share in the property developer is worth BWP304.4 million ($26.3 million).
