Regulatory changes raise uncertainty—TNM
TNM plc chief executive officer (CEO) Douglas Stevenson says regulatory changes Malawi Regulatory Communications Authority (Macra) is currently implementing on the market have increased levels of uncertainty in the telecommunications industry.
He said in a report contained in the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed company’s annual report for 2015, that entry into the market by operators who may not necessarily require similar capital investment which TNM incurred has increased regulatory costs in form of licensing fees and levies and higher cost of regulatory management.
Stevenson said currently, Macra is implementing a repeal of the Communications Act (Cap 68:01) to adopt, among other things, a new convergence licensing regime and Consolidated ICT Regulatory Management System (Cirms), otherwise known as spy machine, which could have an impact on the company.
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On the company’s performance, he said they have managed to register a modest profit despite tough trading environment.
“Net profit after taxation for 2015 increased by three percent to K5.4 billion from K5.2 billion in 2014 and was achieved after net financing costs of K4.4 billion from K2.8 billion in 2014, which included foreign exchange losses of K1.4 billion from K420 million in 2014,” he said.
Stevenson said the growth of TNM data services is a focus area for growth in the future.
He said the company is developing a secondary data centre in Lilongwe to complement their existing primary data centre in Limbe, a development which has increased TNM’s data base by 36 percent.
Stevenson said at the end of 2015, Mpamba subscriber base grew by 81 percent to 945 000.
Speaking on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting in Blantyre on Wednesday, TNM vice-chairperson of the board Hitesh Anadkat said the company registered a good performance in a tough economic environment despite poor performance on the stock market.
He said the company’s shareholders will receive a final dividend of 10 tambala per share, bringing total dividends for the year to K3 billion ($4.2million).
