• Realises P1.6 billion in revenue
• Achieves P659m in profit before tax
For the year-ending 31 December 2021, the country’s
leading financial services operator, ABSA Bank Bo–
tswana, demonstrated robust strategic, financial and
operational performance, despite continuing challenges,
the ABSA Chairman, Neo Moroka, has said in the ABSA
2021 integrated report.
ABSA Botswana realised P1.6 billion in revenue, which
is a 5 percent growth from that of the prior year. The bank
also achieved a profit before tax of P659 million, which is
an 81 percent year-on-year growth.
Return on Equity stands at 20 percent, representing an
improvement from 13 percent in 2020. “All in all, our bal–
ance sheet position remained solid at P21.5 billion, with
strong liquidity and capital adequacy levels throughout
theperiod under review,” Moroka says in the report.
He notes that this strong performance was taken into
consideration when the ABSA Botswana Board resolved
to declare a dividend of 37 thebe per share, amounting to
a total dividend of P319 million (comprising P83 million
previously paid as an interim dividend and P236 million at
27.69 thebe per share as a final dividend).
“This performance is a testament to our winning strategic
endeavours, leadership teams’ strength as well as employee
resilience and commitment,” he says.
Moroka notes that in 2021, ABSA Botswana slightly piv-
oted from the 2020 strategy, which was more of a response
strategy “to defend our market share given the emergence
of the COVID-19 pandemic”. By the end of 2020, the
Board, together with the Bank’s management, reviewed the
Bank’s strategic ambitions and priorities, cognizant of the
Group strategy.
“The Group’s strategic review process had made it clear
that a fundamentally new strategy was not appropriate, but
rather a re-anchoring and stimulation of the existing strat-
egy that was launched in 2018,” he says.
“Considering the bank’s operating environment, our
2021 strategy primarily focused on targeted growth and
gaining momentum within a context of available resources
and other relevant factors. This strategy was based on the
need for business recovery post-COVID-19, exceptional
customer experience and building lasting legacies.”
Meanwhile, offering an outlook into the future, Moroka
said ABSA Bank Botswana still faces potential challenges
ahead, such as the possibility of new COVID-19 variants,
which could lead to the reinstatement of related restric-
tions, as well as elevated inflation and the spillover from
the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“The latter is likely to have widespread repercussions
across global markets and industries as it threatens global
food security and energy supplies, and has already inten-
sified inflation pressure,” he says. “Despite these looming
challenges, I am confident that although it may be a long
road to full recovery, the bank will continue to deliver on its
strategic ambition, bringing possibilities to life.”