Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore has returned to work after an extended medical leave. The Safaricom boss, who has been away seeking medical treatment in London, UK, for the past nine months broke the news via his Twitter handle on Monday.
Kenya’s dominant telecoms operator Safaricom does not hinder competition, its chief executive Bob Collymore told lawmakers on Monday as he returned to work after a nine-month absence for medical treatment.
The country’s industry regulator recommended in a draft proposal in May that Safaricom, which controls 67 percent of Kenya’s mobile market, should offer rivals access to its transmission sites and its vast network of mobile money outlets to increase competition in the sector.
“Thirty million customers have made a conscious decision to come onto Safaricom’s network,” Collymore told a parliamentary committee when asked if Safaricom was hindering competition.
The committee is looking into whether any measures should be taken to boost competition in the market following the Communications Authority of Kenya’s (CA) draft proposal.
Collymore said he was confident authorities would not seek to punish the success of Safaricom, which is 35 percent-owned by South African group Vodacom with the Kenyan government and Britain’s Vodafone also holding stakes.
Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore is back to the country after spending close to one year in London. Bob Collymore has been out for the past ten months. He left work on October 30, 2017 to “receive specialized treatment for a number of months.”
“I’m back. Thanks to everyone who supported me over the past 9 months especially the clinical team at @UCLH, my superb @SafaricomPLC team and of course my wife @WambuiKamiru,” he tweeted.
I'm back. Thanks to everyone who supported me over the past 9 months especially the clinical team at @UCLH, my superb @SafaricomPLC team and of course my wife @WambuiKamiru
— Bob Collymore (@bobcollymore) August 6, 2018
But it was his presence before the Parliamentary Communications Committee that appeared to have caught everyone off guard.
Collymore, flanked by other top Safaricom officials, was appearing before the committee to address legislative and regulatory gaps affecting competition in the telecommunications sector.
Mr Collymore’s last public appearance was in May this year when he made a videolink address to investors during release of Safaricom’s full year financial results.
During the video-link address in May, the Safaricom CEO said he was in his final phase of treatment, assuring investors that he would return as soon as his doctors cleared him to travel.
While Mr. Collymore was away, his position was being held by Safaricom Chief Financial Officer Sateesh Kamath, supported by Director of Strategy and Innovation Joseph Ogutu.
Collymore appeared in Parliament on Monday morning before the Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation regarding inquiry into legislative and regulatory gaps affecting competition in the telecommunication sub-sector. Collymore took medical leave in October 2017. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sateesh Kamath and Strategy Director Joseph Ogutu were left in charge of the giant East Africa telecommunication company. In May 9, in a teleconference, Collymore announced an annual profit of Sh55.29 billion in the year ending March 2018 for Safaricom.
Speaking during the company’s Full Year investor briefing, Collymore, who has been away since October last year, noted that he was making good progress in his treatment. “I look forward to being back in action in Nairobi soon,” Collymore said as he announced a 10 percent growth in revenue to Sh224.54 billion. Safaricom reported net income growth of 14.1 percent to Sh55.29 billion for the year ending March 2018. Both M-Pesa and data grew in double digits. During the last financial year M-Pesa registered 2.1 million new customers and achieved revenue growth of 14.2 percent to Sh62.91 billion.
He has been in charge since 2010, during which time he has overseen a surge in the company’s share price and dividends as he delivered strong results.
The other big players in the market are Bharti Airtel’s Kenyan unit, which has a 19.7 percent market share, and Telkom Kenya, controlled by London-based Helios Investment, with 8.6 percent of the market.
Safaricom’s share price continued to rise during Collymore’s absence. It gained 11 percent during the past nine months, despite a wobble after the CA’s proposal, with the company forecasting in May that profit before interest and taxes would rise 7-12 percent in the year through April 2019.