First Mutual Holdings Limited believes in investing in real estate to keep its value and importance in the market, according to its financial report for the year ending December 31, 2023.
Even with tough times in the economy, First Mutual sees a lot of promise in Zimbabwe’s real estate. The company wants to make sure people get good returns on their investments.
The chairman, Mr. Amos Manzai, said rental income went up by 199 percent. This happened because more leases were in US dollars and rents were adjusted for inflation.
Even though fewer places were rented out – occupancy dropped from 85.52 percent to 76.7 percent – more space became available because of new investments. The average rental income per square meter also went up, from US$3.51 to US$5.29. This happened because the company added more products in US dollars to its portfolio to adapt to the changing economy.
“As the economy starts using the US dollar more, we added more US dollar-based products to stay relevant. We invested in real assets to protect against the high inflation,” said Mr. Manzai.
Mr. Manzai reported a big increase in overall investment returns. It’s 146 percent when adjusted for high inflation, and a huge 1,860 percent more compared to the previous year.
He said these good results were mostly because the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange did well. First Mutual plans to use its group connections to handle changes in the economy well and make good profits for shareholders.
Despite problems like droughts caused by El Niño, the company is hopeful about growth in mining, tourism, retail, finance, and construction. Even if the government puts more money into the economy, First Mutual thinks the government can handle it.
Because of the successful year, First Mutual Holdings announced a final dividend of US$1 million to be paid in US dollars. This comes from the company’s profits for 2023 and means US$0.136 per share. Added with the interim dividend of US$500,000, it’s a total dividend of US$1.5 million for the year. This dividend will come from the company’s cash flow and will be given to all shareholders who are registered on June 21. They will get it around June 26.
