- Tsaone Segaetsho
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTC), the only telecommunications company listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), appears to be emerging from nearly a decade of underperformance.
The recent financial results show that profit increased from P200 million to P259 million, representing a 30% year-on-year rise. The financial results for the year ended 31 March 2025 further indicate that BTC’s revenue grew by 4%, from P1.44 billion to P1.49 billion.
According to the company’s commentary on the results, the revenue growth was largely driven by continued uptake in fixed and mobile data services, supported by investment in high-speed fibre networks and the expansion of mobile data infrastructure.
“Additional revenue growth was realised from the mobile money and cloud services segments. The cloud business particularly benefitted from the operationalism of the Data Protection Act which increased demand for local cloud and computing services,” stated the financial results book, signed by former Acting CEO, Boitumelo Paya, who was recently succeeded by Jürgen Peschel.
BTC was not immune to the ripple effects of Botswana’s diamond revenue-dependent economy, which experienced a sluggish year and faces gloomy forecasts. However, the company remains optimistic, citing government-led digitisation initiatives — including digital learning in schools, village connectivity, and device distribution programmes — as expected drivers of demand for digital services. President Duma Boko last week emphasised the need for digitisation as a fulcrum for his government’s service delivery and efficient fiscal consolidation strategy.
BTC’s earnings per share (EPS) rose by 28%, from 15.00 thebe to 19.26 thebe. Dividends paid to shareholders had been declining for years.
With a clean balance sheet, BTCL also saw a 5% reduction in the cost of services and goods sold, from P637 million to P603 million. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) increased from 6.1% to 7.5%, while capital expenditure (CAPEX) as a percentage of revenue rose from 14.3% to 20.2%.
