Collymore has been on sick leave since October 2017/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 9 – Safaricom Chief Executive Bob Collymore is set to return to the helm of the organisation as the company announced a 19.9 percent increase in net Income to hit Sh55.29 billion.
Collymore who has been on medical leave since October last year noted that he was making good progress in his treatment without disclosing the actual date of return.
“I look forward to being back in action in Nairobi soon,” Collymore announced during the release of their performance for the year ended March 31, 2018, on Wednesday.
The firm posted 10 per cent growth in revenue to Sh224.54 billion attributed to 38 per cent growth in data and 28 per cent growth in MPESA whose revenue hit Sh62.9 billion.
“To achieve these results we sharpened our focus on putting our customers first, delivering relevant products and services, and organizational effectiveness; a strategy that was exceptionally well executed considering the challenging business climate last year,” said Collymore.
SMS revenue went up by 6.2 percent to hit Sh17.72 billion while fixed service revenue grew by 27 percent to hit Sh6.67 billion.
The telco now has a total customer base of 29.6 million.
Moving forward the firm has planned to spend Sh38 billion in infrastructure expansion.
“In FY 2019 we look to drive long-term shareholder value by deploying next-generation network services, leveraging data analytics and segmentation, guided by our purpose of transforming lives to turn innovative ideas into realities,” said Sateesh Kamath, Finance Director.
Kamanth also raised concerns over the competition study that proposes the introduction of price controls and infrastructure sharing regulations.
Joe Ogutu, Innovation and Strategy Director argued for market forces to prevail.
