Johannesburg - The number one priority of Telkom is to improve business in Nigeria, the telecommunications giant said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a presentation of Telkom's annual results for 2009, chief executive officer Reuben September said Telkom viewed the Nigerian market in a serious light.
"We view it in a serious light," said Mr September, referring to Telkom's 100 percent owned subsidiary in that country's Multi-Links.
According to the results released, Telkom's net income decreased by 47.7 percent to R4.17 million in the year ended 31 March 2009.
The results also showed that Telkom's Nigerian operations had made a loss of R1.76 billion.
"Turning around Multi-Links's performance is vital to Telkom given the extent of the group's investment and the enormous opportunity the Nigerian market provides," he said adding, that the Nigerian economy was not excluded from the global financial situation.
The plan for Telkom in Nigeria among others is an additional 1000 km of fibre planned for 2009/2010, as well as increasing subscriber growth. Mr September said he hoped that Multi-Links would be "cash flow positive by 2011/12".
The company is also positioning itself to serve more customers through partnerships.
"Telkom is also positioning itself to serve multi national customers in Africa through combining our presence with partners," Mr September said.
