BotswanaPost remains trapped in losses
Botswana Post has announced intentions to remain upbeat despite a drop in profit due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, as reported in the company’s integrated report for 2020/ 2021.
“We do not believe that these hard times will last forever. We have many reasons to expect an improvement in the financial performance of the company as we all learn, adapt — and respond to the needs of our customers,” said Botswana Post Chairman, Nathan Monametse Kgabi.
For the year under review, Botswana Post achieved a gross profit of P72.94 million compared to P97.07 million in 2020 and a loss before taxation amounts to P42.83 million compared P39.01 million in 2020, 10 percent movement in contrast to the previous financial year.
“With revenue holding its ground and unnecessary spending significantly reduced, losses for the period under review were 73 percent lower than initially forecast at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Botswana Post Chief Executive Officer, Cornelius Ramatlhakwane. The company has attributed the decrease of 25 percent in comparison to the prior year to chaos and devastation on every corner of the globe caused by COVID- 19. However, despite the plunge in gross profit, BotswanaPost was two percent short of the revised revenue target, set in line with the pandemic. “We are demonstrating our financial resilience and value to our shareholder, underpinned by our well- diversified revenue structure and commitment to staying ahead of the evolving needs of our customers,” Ramatlhakwane said. In addition to coming close to revenue target, Ramatlhakwane said Botswana Post was also able to fully execute a savings strategy for operations and administration, beating the set target by 53 percent. “We were also able to recoup P78 million in Universal Service income from the shareholder ( government), which is imperative to maintaining financial health of the business given the lengths we go to in providing essential mail services to the most marginalised areas of the country.”
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to move the company out of the woods, BotswanaPost is implementing a wide array of tech- driven advancements and plans are underway to expand postal footprint in the year ahead.