Despite revenue growth of 0.6 percent recorded by Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) in the year ended 31 March 2023, profitability was 23 percent lower than the previous year.
According BTC’s integrated 2023 annual report, increased costs of copper network replacement and human capital optimisation expenses were the main extraordinary costs incurred during the year. These costs significantly contributed to a decrease in profit after tax from P141 million to P108 million.
The total impact of an unprecedented increase in theft and vandalism of copper infrastructure amounted to P56 million, while an organisational restructuring exercise, which saw a reduction in the workforce in November 2022, cost the company P55 million. “Despite the revenue growth, profit after tax declined by 23 percent due to the higher-than-expected cost of replacing copper infrastructure after the incidences of copper cable theft,” says the Managing Director, Anthony Masunga, in the report. “Profits were additionally hampered by the payment of exit packages for our exited staff members as we prepared the organisation for a digitalised business model.”
Over the reporting period, the company underwent an organisational restructuring exercise whose primary objectives included creation of a more fit-for-purpose organisation that supports the strategic repositioning of the business into the future. “The exercise was intended to ensure that the company had the right human capital in the right jobs that would contribute towards its future viability and long-term financial sustainability,” says the report. “The total separation costs from the exercise amounted to P55 million.” To curb the persistent copper theft cable that has plagued the country for some time, the BTC says it has intensified de-coppering of the network and increased its capital budget to facilitate provision of high-speed mobile, radio and fibre network services.
“During this year, we embarked on an aggressive de-coppering programme which is intended to replace copper infrastructure with either fibre optic or wireless broadband technologies,” says the report. “This is partly in response to the escalated copper theft observed over the years that affected BTC’s ability to provide reliable Internet and voice connectivity to its customers.
“The de-coppering programme also presents an opportunity for us to modernise the telecommunications network infrastructure and ready it to support the capacity requirements of digital services and digital content consumption. “This consumption has grown exponentially post-Covid-19, and our network is currently supporting public and private enterprises that have embarked on their own digital transformation journeys.”
