After releasing half year results with a slight revenue growth of 6.6 percent last week, Botswana’s only international security solutions provider, BSE listed G4S Groups’ Directors announced that business was now stable and continuing to build on the gains made so far. They also expressed strong confidence that the second half of the year will also deliver improved results.
Managing Director, Michael Kampani however cautioned that they were still far from reaching their comfort zone. “We are not in the Promised Land yet, more work needs to be done to consolidate this and have a stronger results by end of year 2014. We need to continue looking for opportunities,” he said.
Kampani revealed that the revenue growth was attributable to the success of the turnaround initiatives aimed at achieving operational stability, driving sales momentum, attracting new business, and contract retention.
It is understood that, good growth was achieved across all products on the back of significant growth in the cash business and a healthy recovery of the facilities management business. Significant cost efficiencies resulting from a restructuring of the business in the last quarter of 2013 and various other cost containment initiatives including bad debts contributed to the significant growth in profitability.
As the turnaround drive continues, the Directors have indicated in the report that revenue growth and profit improvement measures will continue in the second half of the year. Good cash management prospects including the rollout of innovative cash management products and continued investment in fleet and other operating infrastructure and equipment are expected to entrench operational stability, strengthen operational capabilities, enhance contract retention and stimulate revenue growth.
Still at the briefing, Kampani revealed that the company has expanded its cash management services to Francistown and are only left with getting all the logistics done and are hoping to expand more in this area.
“Already we are doing ATM management for two major banks here in Gaborone and we hope to grow the area as well. We also want to re-engineer our system business to ensure that it is robust and user friendly.” Kampani said though he decried slow uptake of technology in the market, especially on bigger contracts that come on tender.
He also indicated that the Company in the previous year lost a number of contracts as the market was subdued. “However, we have regained the confidence market as the clients who had left us are returning.” he said.
He also indicated that more companies are venturing into cleaning services and as such, price becomes an issue and they go for the most economical opportunity. “You may gain but the numbers will be fewer. So you need to get big contracts in this regard, for instance in Government hospitals. This is where the biggest opportunities are as compared to Corporate. Government outsourcing is the biggest opportunity though it has its own rules like Citizen economic Empowerment policy amongst others,” he added.