WINDHOEK - PowerCom Pty Ltd has declared dividends of N$8.1 million for the 2017/2018 financial year.
Its CEO Alisa Amupolo stated that during the previous financial year the company was able to withstand the challenging economic times by focusing on its core business which is tower rental; accelerating new client on boarding and exiting non-core services that were not value adding.
This repositioning of the business has resulted in operational efficiency and significant cost savings.
“As a company, we encounter challenges by operating in what has traditionally been a fixed asset environment and, in recent years have recognized a need to invest in business process automation to generate real-time data which can then be used to develop a sustainable and effective flow of information between departments to better serve our clients and shareholders,” said Amupolo.
As a result, PowerCom has invested in an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) to streamline systems and budgets in the years ahead, further allowing the company to integrate and manage all daily operations simultaneously, including technical and commercial elements alongside financial elements. The information has also been readily available to enable decisions to be made rapidly, delivering data accuracy to ensure decisions were appropriate and measured, while improving the speed of service delivery.
Amupolo also stated that focus was placed on reviewing the existing PowerCom organisational structure, as the objectives were being poorly served by the existing structure, therefore realigning it to the company’s strategic objectives became a core goal of the financial year.
“Throughout this process, we remained mindful that operations must work according to the strategic plans if they were to help us achieve our goals and targets. We recognised a productivity gap and continue to address it, in further improving the financial stability of our organisation,” Amupolo added.
Ensuring the structural integrity of PowerCom assets has also been a key area of work for the company and its staff during the last financial year. This included maintaining existing structures, completing the commission of new towers, taking preventative measures by conducting structural analysis on various towers across the country.
Looking ahead, PowerCom believes there are clear opportunities and challenges ahead in the form of 5G, artificial intelligence, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The ICT landscape is expected not only to evolve in the coming years, but is expected to evolve entirely and PowerCom believes it is vital to continue investing in preparing for this future as effectively as its clients undoubtedly will.
Therefore, PowerCom will place a primary strategic focus on reviewing its structure to better meet the demands and increase expertise in tower leasing to its business model of co-location service. The company will also further invest in the security of its sites and bring maintenance forward as rapidly as possible. Further strategic initiatives for 2019 include asset integration, gaining insight on legacy infrastructures and reducing turnaround times for services. Customer satisfaction will also serve as a key strategic focus area which is key to retention.
“Most important, we continue to build relationships in the market especially in respect of new tower demands by striking technical partnerships to continue providing world class communications infrastructure that enables connectivity to all industries for economic transformation,” Amupolo concluded.