Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) saw profits almost halve during the year ended March 31, 2026, as the country's difficult economic environment, rising operating costs and continued pricing pressure weighed on the telecommunications operator's performance.
The state-backed telecoms company reported profit before tax of P146.2 million, down 45% from P266.6 million a year earlier, while earnings per share fell by a similar margin to 10.79 thebe from 19.69 thebe. Revenue declined 1.6% to P1.47 billion from P1.49 billion, reflecting weaker demand for traditional telecommunications services.
BTC said the prolonged weakness in Botswana's economy continued to influence consumer spending and business activity, resulting in lower demand across its legacy voice services. Although growth in mobile money and digital services helped cushion the decline, it was not enough to offset shrinking revenue from fixed and mobile voice offerings.
The company also faced higher operating costs as it accelerated investment in digital services and network infrastructure. Cost of services and goods sold increased by 13%, driven mainly by additional spectrum costs and expenses associated with expanding its mobile financial services business.
"These investments are critical in ensuring that BTC offers a competitive product geared towards an improved customer experience and a customer value proposition consistent with our market share acquisition ambitions," the company said.
The operating environment remained challenging throughout the financial year. BTC noted that Botswana's economy contracted by 0.7%, largely due to continued weakness in the global diamond market, which reduced export earnings, government revenues and broader economic activity. The slowdown also spilled over into the non-diamond private sector, where weaker business activity and consumer demand affected companies across the economy.
Despite the decline in profitability, the board declared a final dividend of 1.12 thebe per share, with payment scheduled for August 5, 2026.
Looking ahead, BTC expects consumers to remain under financial pressure in the near term but believes conditions could improve later in the year. The company plans to complete investments aimed at strengthening its digital capabilities and growing market share, including the relaunch of its mobile brand with expanded unlimited data offerings, wider 5G coverage, digitised customer onboarding, prepaid fibre broadband products, HD voice calling over LTE and travel eSIM services.
BTC said these investments are intended to position the company to benefit from an eventual recovery in consumer demand while supporting Botswana's broader digital transformation agenda.