Chamwe Kaira
Alexander Forbes Namibia (Alexforbes) reported 2% growth for the six months ended 30 September, driven by higher administration, consulting and advice fee revenue.
The company said the increase was partly offset by lower asset-based income following the implementation of direct asset management fees from South Africa.
Alexforbes has initiated a process to decommission legacy fund administration platforms and consolidate its administration systems throughout South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
The company said the project, launched in mid-2025, is progressing on schedule and is expected to improve client experience, deliver cost efficiencies and support scalability over the medium to long term.
On its senior debt facility, the company said that in December 2020, Alexander Forbes Namibia Holdings obtained an N$28 million unsecured, five-year term loan to finance the refurbishment of its head office. Alexander Forbes Financial Services Namibia provided a guarantee.
The loan carries interest at the Namibian prime lending rate plus a 1.20% margin, compounded monthly. It is repayable in ten equal installments of principal and interest, paid semi-annually in arrears. The company stated that at maturity, an outstanding principal of N$14 million and outstanding interest are due.
Trade policy uncertainty and geopolitical tensions caused global market volatility during the first half of the 2026 financial year, according to Alexforbes. Markets still reached record highs, supported by resilient global growth and accommodative monetary policy.
Locally, growth remained subdued, but lower inflation allowed the Reserve Bank to continue cutting rates, creating a more supportive environment.
Operating income increased by 9% to N$2.3 billion, driven by higher average assets under management, positive investment performance, inflationary increases in the retirement client base, strong client retention and new business flows across the investments and retail segments.
Operating expenses rose 10% to N$1.9 billion. The company said the increase was influenced by the cash settlement of a portion of long-term incentive plan awards and an IFRS 16 lease adjustment after the renewal of the head office lease in September 2024.
The company managed to contain the underlying operating expense growth at 3% year-on-year by excluding these items.
Normalised profit from operations, excluding the IFRS 16 adjustment, rose 18% to N$446 million. Including the adjustment, profit from operations was N$443 million, down 1% year-on-year.
The company explained that IFRS 16 requires lease liabilities to be measured at the present value of lease payments that are not paid at the start of the lease.
Headline earnings per share increased 17% to 33.2 cents.
The company said this shows how well the discontinued operations did financially, including the final payment of N$93 million related to the second phase of the fair treatment and valuation liability after a mutual agreement.
Caption
Alexforbes Namibia reported 2% growth in financial results for the six months ended 30 September.
Photo: Contributed
