Botswana tycoon Gulaam Abdoola’s Turnstar Holdings expects pre-tax earnings to decline by 11.5 percent

Turnstar Holdings, a property loan stock firm run by Botswana real estate mogul Gulaam Abdoola, has disclosed that it anticipates a double-digit decline in pre-tax earnings in the first half of its 2023 fiscal year.

The leading property loan stock company noted in a trading statement that, despite a rise in rental income, it expects pre-tax profits for the first half of 2023 to decline by 11.5 percent in the first half of its 2023 fiscal year, falling from BWP61 million ($4.56 million) to BWP59 million ($4.41 million).

Turnstar noted that its rental revenue climbed by roughly 11.3 percent for the six-month period ending July 31, rising from BWP128.2 million ($9.6 million) to BWP142.7 million ($10.67 million).

The drop in the company’s earnings can be attributed to inflationary cost pressures that severely hurt earnings, as well as pressures from rising borrowing rates, which increased the group’s finance expenses as compared to the comparable prior quarter.

Turnstar Holdings is a property loan stock group based in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital city. The company owns eight properties in Botswana, four in Tanzania, and one in Dubai, which include multifamily estates, office buildings, and premium retail shopping centers.

Abdoola, a founding member and managing director of the Botswana-based real estate group, is the company’s largest individual shareholder, owning a 14-percent share.

The trading update for its financial performance in the first half of 2023 comes after the company announced a double-digit percent increase in profit at the end of its 2022 fiscal year, owing to robust rental income growth.

Its profit climbed by 24.1 percent from BWP81.3 million ($6.71 million) in 2021 to BWP100.94 million ($8.33 million) thanks to a combination of revenue and cost-cutting strategies implemented by management.