Botswana Drag: Famous Brands Warns Half-Year Earnings Could Fall Up to 33%Botswana Drag: Famous Brands Warns Half-Year Earnings Could Fall Up to 33%
Key Highlights
- Famous Brands expects half-year earnings per share of 157 to 205 cents (KSh 12.47 to KSh 16.28), down 13% to 33% on a year earlier, after a Botswana impairment.
- The writedown of KSh 324.85M ($2.5M) hits Retail Group, which runs 51 company-owned restaurants in Botswana, where weak diamond demand and economic conditions left the business underperforming.
- Famous Brands will sell 21% of Retail Group, cutting its stake from 51% to 30%, as part of a move to a lighter, franchise-led model outside South Africa.
Famous Brands, the JSE-listed restaurant group, has warned that its half-year earnings per share could fall by as much as 33% after it wrote down the value of its Botswana business.
In a trading statement published on 15 October 2026, Famous Brands said earnings per share for the six months to August will be between 157 and 205 cents (KSh 12.47 to KSh 16.28), a fall of 13% to 33% on a year earlier.
The writedown is an impairment of KSh 324.85M ($2.5M) on Retail Group Proprietary Limited, the unit through which it runs its Botswana restaurants. Dollar figures here are converted at KSh 129.94 to the dollar, and rand figures at about KSh 7.94 to the rand.
Stripping out the writedown
The company also reported headline earnings per share of 205 to 252 cents (KSh 16.28 to KSh 20.01), against 236 cents (KSh 18.74) a year earlier. That range runs from a 13% fall to a 7% gain. Without the impairment, earnings per share would have been 199 to 247 cents (KSh 15.81 to KSh 19.62).
Famous Brands described its revenue performance as resilient. It said higher fuel prices linked to the Middle East conflict and higher interest rates made trading conditions difficult.
A smaller stake in Botswana
Retail Group underperformed mainly because of Botswana's economic conditions, including weak diamond demand. Famous Brands owns 51% of the unit, which runs 51 company-owned restaurants, and will sell 21%, leaving it with 30%. The buyer and the price were not disclosed, and the sale is expected to complete in the financial year ending February 2027, subject to conditions including regulatory approval.
The company still sees long-term potential in Botswana and will keep an economic interest through its remaining stake and master licence fees. It describes the move as part of a shift to a lighter, franchise-led model outside South Africa. Full interim results are expected on or about 21 October.
As Mwenendo earlier reported, EPRA lifted fuel prices in Kenya this month, the same fuel pressure the restaurant group cites. Mwenendo earlier reported on how loans cost an average 14.34% in Kenya, a reminder of what higher interest rates do to businesses that borrow.
The shares have fallen about 18% since early July, and the company's market value is about KSh 39.37B ($303M).
In Summary
- Who issued the warning?
- Famous Brands, a JSE-listed restaurant group.
- What did it say?
- Half-year earnings per share will be 157 to 205 cents (KSh 12.47 to KSh 16.28), down 13% to 33%, after a KSh 324.85M ($2.5M) impairment on its Botswana unit.
- When was it published and when are results due?
- The trading statement was published on 15 October 2026; full interim results are expected on or about 21 October.
- Where is the problem?
- Botswana, where Retail Group runs 51 company-owned restaurants.
- Why did the unit underperform?
- The company cites Botswana's economic conditions, including weak diamond demand; it also cites higher fuel prices and interest rates.
- How is the company responding?
- It will sell 21% of Retail Group, cutting its stake from 51% to 30%, as part of a shift to a franchise-led model outside South Africa.