TNM touts growth, as Chikaonda bids farewell

TNM plc, a Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed integrated information and communication technology service provider, has said innovations and initiatives undertaken in 2016 to offer more value to its subscribers and business community helped anchor its growth.

In an interview on the sidelines of the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Blantyre, TNM plc outgoing board chairperson Matthews Chikaonda said the company performed well and recorded a satisfactory growth on account of increased network quality and resultant incremental volumes.

“We have come a long way moving from 60 000 subscribers to 3.4 million subscribers. We are a progressive company that would be transforming the telecoms landscape for Malawi to be an enabler for many development areas in Malawi providing technological capacity in schools, hospitals and the like to enable the delivery of services,” he said.

Chikaonda said the company invested a lot in infrastructure in 2016 to develop and improve the system, which accounted for K11.8 billion and intends to do the same going forward.

“Malawi cannot be an island, we ought to take the country where the rest of the world is in terms of telecoms capabilities and TNM is there to provide solutions in this country,” he said.

According to Chikaonda, TNM plc registered a profit after-tax of K8.21 billion, a 52 percent increase compared to the previous year’s K5.41 billion.

He further expressed confidence that going forward the company will continue to grow on the back of ambitious plans and strategies set to achieve the feat.

During the review period, the company’s overall revenue increased by 31 percent due to the growth in subscriber base, increases in prepaid airtime revenues and improvements as well as expansion in network.

TNM plc chief executive officer Douglas Stevenson said good performance in prepaid airtime revenues, accounted for 54 percent of the revenues, grew by 21 percent to K34.9 billion.

“A marked increase in gross connections and general customer usage, especially in the Northern and Central regions, was recorded and complemented by improvements in distribution and customer services,” he said.

During the AGM, shareholders approved the chairperson’s fees to K6.612 million from K5.750 million per year and K5.819 million from K5.060 million per year for non-executives directors with effect from July 1 2017.