South African telecommunications utility Telkom has allocated R7,7-million to programmes designed to control the HIV/Aids pandemic in its 2004/05 financial year, Telkom CEO Sizwe Nxasana announced on Monday.
Earlier in the day Telkom reported a sterling set of results in its first year as a listed company, with an impressive 175% jump in headline earnings per share to 864 cents for the year ended March 31 2004, from 314 cents a year ago. A final dividend of 110 cents per share was declared, making a total of 200 cents for the year.
Telkom’s strategy is to enhance HIV/Aids education campaigns and offer voluntary counselling, testing and treatment for affected staff across the country, the company said.
It estimates HIV/Aids prevalence at 9,6% within its workplace, which is considerably lower than the country’s estimate of 26,5%.
Nxasana said a cornerstone of Telkom’s strategy is to sustain its development in the marketplace.
“People are Telkom’s most important competitive asset and key to being an efficient and cost-effective group. The group has implemented a strategic human capital management plan, which seeks to protect and nurture its people. Telkom’s people are driving operational efficiencies and innovation within the group and are the people behind customer retention,” Nxasana said.
Black economic empowerment (BEE) also underpins Telkom’s drive for sustainability. The company advanced its strategy, which elevates BEE as a crucial growth imperative for Telkom, by directing R5-billion in the 2004 financial year to BEE suppliers.
In its efforts to contribute to the development of a broad-based black middle class, Telkom created an estimated R560-million in value for more than 100Â 000 retail shareholders, who subscribed to Telkom’s initial public offering, it added.
Telkom reduced its fixed-line headcount by 8,5% (excluding subsidiaries) to 32Â 358 in the 2004 financial year, with only 3,6% of losses being involuntary retrenchments. It aims to reduce employee numbers on an annual basis by 7% to 10% a year, including natural attrition.
This will be largely enabled through the operational support systems (OSS) initiative, which provides automated solutions to enhance revenue and reduce costs. Already, increased employee productivity has been reflected in growth from 137 to 149 lines per employee.
Nxasana said: “Aside from improving its competitiveness through sustaining marketplace development, Telkom is working hard to comply with the rigorous corporate governance framework as spelt out in local King II report and Sarbanes-Oxley guidelines for NYSE [New York Stock Exchange] listing requirements.” — I-Net Bridge