In a year when much of the region’s commercial property sector was still nursing the bruises of higher borrowing costs and cautious tenants, The Far Property Company Limited (FPC) has delivered the kind of results that turn heads on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE). The Gaborone-headquartered landlord, whose portfolio of shopping centres, industrial parks and offices now spans four countries, reported a 21 percent leap in profit before income tax for the year ended 30 June 2026 – a performance that underscores both the resilience of its property base and the ambition of its management.
Profit before income tax climbed to P188.9 million, up from P156.2 million a year earlier. Profit for the year attributable to linked unitholders rose even faster, jumping 28 percent to P177.9 million from P139.5 million, lifting basic earnings per linked unit to 35.95 thebe from 28.93 thebe. Once currency translation gains on the group’s foreign operations are folded in, total comprehensive income reached P193.5 million.
A broad-based lift, not a one-off
What will please analysts is that the headline profit was not the product of a single accounting flourish. Revenue rose 8 percent to P189.0 million, operating profit advanced 9 percent to P175.8 million, and net income from operations edged up 5 percent to P133.2 million. A P58.5 million upward revaluation of investment property, more than double the prior year’s P22.8 million adjustment, added further shine, reflecting a portfolio that valuers judged to be worth more at year-end than twelve months before.
The balance sheet tells the same story of steady expansion. The value of FPC’s investment property grew 12 percent to P1.98 billion, pushing total assets to P2.22 billion from P1.97 billion. Equity attributable to unitholders swelled to P1.49 billion. Crucially, the company kept its gearing in check, with a loan-to-asset value of 23 percent, comfortable headroom for a group with clear appetite for further acquisitions.
Cash generation was a standout. Net cash generated from operating activities doubled to P199.5 million from P98.9 million, and the group closed the year with P43.8 million in cash and equivalents, a healthy recovery from P6.0 million a year earlier.
Quality tenants, negligible vacancies
Behind the numbers sits a portfolio that FPC describes as well balanced and defensively positioned. By gross lettable area, commercial space accounts for 51 percent, industrial 42 percent and residential 7 percent. The tenant roster is anchored by premium occupiers: 78 percent of tenants are graded A – national and international retail brands and blue-chip names – with a further 19 percent in Grade B and only 3 percent in the start-up Grade C category.
That quality translates into dependable income. The company points to long-term leases underpinning cash flows and a vacancy rate it calls negligible, with an overall rent yield of around 10 percent. In a market where landlords elsewhere have wrestled with rising voids, near-full occupancy is a powerful advantage.
Botswana remains the engine room, generating 84 percent of revenue, followed by South Africa at 10 percent, Zambia at 5 percent and Namibia at 1 percent.
Sharing the spoils
Investors will be rewarded with a distribution of 13.28 thebe per linked unit for the year, comprising 13.17 thebe of interest and 0.11 thebe of dividend, up from 12.65 thebe the previous year. The payout, declared on 26 June 2026, is due on 11 November 2026, with an ex-dividend date of 3 November and a record date of 5 November.
The board settled on a 50 percent payout ratio, a deliberate choice to strike a balance between rewarding unitholders today and retaining firepower for tomorrow. Management was explicit that the retained earnings are earmarked for expanding the business and developing its growing land bank – the raw material of future rental income.
Building the next chapter
If the results confirm FPC’s present strength, its strategy signals where the growth will come from. Five new projects offering better rental yields and portfolio value are in progress and will be added to the portfolio. The group is also pressing ahead with plans to develop its existing land bank, securing high-quality tenants and stronger yields, while scouting additional commercial land for future development.
Diversification beyond home turf is a clear theme. FPC flagged new strategic investments in Zambia and Namibia, part of a push to enter new markets and broaden a portfolio that has historically leaned on Botswana. At home, several higher-yielding properties remain in the project pipeline, which management expects to lift overall returns further. “Our land bank is still growing for sustainable future development,” the company noted.
A vote of confidence
The abridged group results, reviewed by external auditors and drawn from consolidated financial statements audited by Grant Thornton, were approved for release by the board and signed by directors Vidya Sanooj and Ranjith Priyalal De Silva on 14 September 2026. Figures are presented in Botswana Pula, the group’s functional currency.
For a company incorporated in Botswana barely sixteen years ago, in 2010, the trajectory is striking: a P2 billion property empire, a doubling of operating cash flow, and a footprint that now reaches into Zambia and Namibia. As Botswana’s economy pivots toward diversification and higher-value activity, FPC’s blend of premium tenants, disciplined gearing and an expanding land bank positions it as one of the confident, home-grown builders of the nation’s commercial future.