Zimbabwe technology company Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe Limited (CSZL), which has business interests in mobile money, digital banking, insurtech and on-demand services, reported revenue of ZW$946 million for the half year ended 31 August 2019.

The published results are inflation-adjusted, in line with International Accounting Standard 29 on Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies, as recommended by the Public Accountants and Auditors Board.

The results are the group’s first interim results as a stand-alone company, following its demerger from Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in December 2018.

The bulk of the revenue reported, amounting to ZW$723 million, came from its flagship mobile money business Ecocash, which has a subscriber base of 10.6 million.

The digital banking business under Steward Bank contributed ZW$181 million of the revenue while InsurTech contributed ZW$76 million. A record total of 2.8 million people are covered by insurance under one of the Insurtech businesses Ecosure.

Despite operating in a challenging operating environment the Group’s earnings were positive with EBITDA at ZW$28 million, while profit for the six months amounted to $3.2 million on a hyper-inflation adjusted basis.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Listed entity  was forced to recognize foreign exchange losses amounting to ZW$506 million.

“This translation loss was exacerbated by the decision in the financial year ended 28 February 2019 to account for all debentures as though they were all US Dollar denominated instruments,” reads the statement.