Choppies Enterprises, Lucara Diamond Corp and Letshego Africa Holdings are the only listed companies on the Botswana Stock Exchange to have posted year-to-date losses by the end of May 2026, declining 12.8 percent, 10.1 percent and 5.6 percent respectively.
The three stocks stand apart from a market that has moved higher this year, with 12 listed counters posting gains and 18 remaining unchanged.
The decline in Choppies’ share price comes after the retailer’s shares surged 230.8 percent in 2025, making it the Botswana Stock Exchange’s best-performing counter for the year.
According to the retailer’s latest interim results, Choppies continued to grow operationally, with retail sales rising 8.9 percent to P5 billion in the six months ended December 2025, driven by the opening of 25 new stores, inflation and volume growth.
Profitability, however, moved in the opposite direction.
Operating profit fell 20 percent to P152 million, while profit after tax from continuing operations fell 33 percent to P77 million.
The interim dividend was reduced to 1.0 thebe per share from 1.6 thebe in the corresponding period and was paid on 29 April 2026.
Management attributed the earnings pressure to reduced consumer liquidity linked to the diamond market slowdown, the July 2025 “devaluation of the Pula,” government austerity measures, inflationary cost pressures, the impact of recently opened stores that have not yet reached maturity, and the implementation of the P4,000 living wage in Botswana.
Despite the weaker earnings performance, the company noted that all operating segments in Botswana, Zambia and Namibia remained EBITDA profitable during the period.
For Letshego, the share price decline comes as investors await the completion of the group’s strategic restructuring.
Financially, the pan-African financial services provider reported a consolidated loss after tax of P235.5 million for the year ended December 2025, driven by a P519.5 million loss from discontinued operations following the board’s decision to classify its subsidiaries in Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda as a disposal group held for sale.
Letshego has since entered into binding agreements with Axian Digital Venture Holding and Management Limited for the sale of the five subsidiaries for a combined consideration of $62.6 million.
Management has described the disposal as part of a broader portfolio optimisation programme designed to improve capital efficiency, strengthen the group’s regulatory capital position and allow management to focus resources on priority markets.
Excluding the discontinued operations, Letshego’s core business delivered one of its strongest performances in recent years.
Profit after tax from continuing operations surged 362 percent to P283 million. Net impairments fell 77 percent to P124.8 million, non-funded income increased 26 percent to P552.8 million, while net interest income rose 3 percent to P1.46 billion.
Lucara’s share price has declined as the company carries the combined weight of a going concern disclosure and a major capital raise required to complete the Karowe Underground Project.
In its 2025 annual results, management stated that working capital, operating cash flows and existing liquidity sources would not be sufficient to fund completion of the Karowe Underground Project, whose revised cost estimate stood at US$779.2 million.
By year-end, the company had already incurred US$469.4 million on the project.
The company also disclosed that it had breached a number of covenants under its existing project finance facilities during 2025, although the breaches were subsequently waived by lenders.
To address the funding shortfall, Lucara launched a series of major financing transactions.
In January 2026, the company completed a non-brokered private placement that raised C$165 million through the issuance of approximately 1.03 billion new shares at C$0.16 per share.
The placement attracted strong participation from the Lundin Family Trusts, which committed up to C$70 million.
As part of the process, Lucara applied to the Toronto Stock Exchange for a financial hardship exemption that allowed the company to proceed without shareholder approval.
The financing effort continued in March when the company completed a US$350 million senior secured bond issue carrying a fixed coupon rate of 12.5 percent and a five-year tenor.
The proceeds were used to fully repay Lucara’s existing US$220 million senior secured project finance facilities, fund future development activities and strengthen liquidity.
Following completion of the financing package, Lucara reported a cash position of US$244.3 million at the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared with US$31.9 million three months earlier.
Operationally, the company continued advancing the underground expansion project, which is expected to extend the life of the Karowe Mine to at least 2038.
However, earnings have remained under pressure from weaker diamond market conditions.
First-quarter revenue declined to US$21.8 million from US$30.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025, after unseasonal rainfall temporarily disrupted open-pit mining operations and increased reliance on lower-grade stockpile material.
Open-pit mining resumed on March 26, 2026.
Despite the weaker first-quarter performance, Lucara has maintained its full-year revenue guidance of between US$100 million and US$130 million.
Together, Choppies, Lucara and Letshego are the only listed companies to have recorded year-to-date share price declines as of May 2026.
