2007 Annual Report
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CON N E C T I V I T Y 2007 ANNUAL REPORT BTC Annual Report 2007 >> 1 Contents The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited Annual Report For The Year Ended December 31, 2007 Introduction . .3 Vision and Mission Statement . .4 Chairman’s Message. .5 Management Report . .6 Connecting to >> Our History. .10 >> Our Businesses . .12 >> Our People. .17 >> Our Consumers . .19 >> Our Community . .22 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS December 31, 2007 . .26 Independent Auditors’ Report . 27 Balance Sheet . .28 Statement of Operations . 29 Statement of Changes in Equity . 30 Statement of Cash Flows . .31 Notes to Financial Statements. 32-55 Corporate Governance . .56 2 >> BTC Annual Report 2007 BTC Annual Report 2007 >> 3 n a magazine interview, web pioneer and AOL co-founder Steve Case once revealed the process he went through a dozen years before trying to make people understand the value of the Internet. “I came Iup with this concept of the 5 Cs,” he said. “Services needed to have content, context, community, com- merce, and connectivity.” Of all of those, he added, relating to people would be most important when it came to management. Connectivity. In a technical world, we speak of it in speed and handling capacity. We talk of T-1 with 24 individual channels, or burstable connectivity, capable of high bandwidth in bursts, or T-3 with 672 channels. We speak of laser. We talk of connectivity as an investment; we dissect it by the data it supports and we push it to the limit, lauding every new trick of the chip it employs to allow us to increase speed. Connectivity. Sometimes we get so caught up in speed and capability, we lose sight of the real meaning —the very heart of telecommunications. Whether by wireline, wireless or Internet, whether through the news we hear on TV or the information we get from talking to our neighbour across the fence, communication is how we gain our sense of community. It connects us to the world around us, but most importantly, it connects us to each other. It is, in the most raw and basic sense, how we know who we are. This annual report is dedicated to that theme. To the sense of community that BTC is com- mitted to: to strengthen this nation, the people, businesses, schools and institutions in it and those who do business and interact with it by connecting all The Bahamas and The Bahamas to the rest of the world. Connectivity. Finding solutions that unite and build our sense of Connectivitycommunity. 4 >> BTC Annual Report 2007 Vision To enhance The Bahamas’ competitive position in the global community by developing and maintaining the most modern, cost effective telecommunications solutions for our customers. Mission To provide superior services; To prepare to operate in a competitive environment; To bridge the digital divide by increasing internet accessibility and affordability; To enable our employees to maximize their potential and share in our success; To create value for our shareholders; and To improve the quality of life for the people of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas BTC Annual Report 2007 >> 5 Chairman’s Message “Improvement in customer service is our #1 Priority” Julian W. Francis, CBE As our Mission Statement states, our vision is to enhance The Bahamas’ competitive position in the global community. It is an honour to be Chairman BTC continued to invest in internal greater customer satisfaction as well of BTC at this dynamic juncture as systems and capital improvements as increased revenue growth. Overall, we prepare for privatisation and to keep The Bahamas on the leading the mobile segment continues to the conversion from a government edge of technology. perform exceptionally well, due monopoly to a private competitor Many of the initiatives we in part to above-noted increased draws closer to reality. implemented will straddle years. roaming, along with continued local The transformation that would These include addressing our subscriber growth and the migration carry us through this time solidifi ed customer touch points, converting to a GSM platform. in 2006 when our focus changed from our Call Centre to a Contact Centre, As forecasted, the long distance being engineering-driven to being the introduction of a pilot Six Sigma calling segment in The Bahamas market-driven. program and the complete saturation mirrored global trends with declining In 2007, that focus was further of GSM mobile services in all of the revenues attributable to competition, strengthened with a renewed corpo- Family Islands. That expansion along illegal operators, substitution and rate culture of customer centricity, with the introduction of CDMA disruptive technologies. Also as fore- strongly supported by the newly-ap- cellular technology and the increase casted, the wireline or fi xed network pointed Directors. At the same time, in roaming agreements has led to continues to grow at a minimal rate with very high customer acquisition costs in the Family Islands. BOARD OF DIRECTORS BTC continued its corporate Far left-right: Raymond Jones, Ian Hepburn, James Moss. Center front: Julian citizenry with the sponsorship of a Francis, CBE, Chairman. Right front: Dean Patrick Adderley, Deputy Chairman, number of charities: BTC’s Adopt- I. Kirk Griffi n, Acting President & CEO. Stairs front, top-bottom: Garth Buckner, A-School Program, Technical Cadet Dedrie Prescott, Claretta Duncombe. Stairs back, top-bottom: Cecile B. Corps Program and The Bahamas Greene, Felicity Johnson, Secretary to the Board. CARIFTA Track & Field and Swim Teams. This has been another successful year for BTC with revenues growing 9% over the previous year and operating income by 2%. However, of equal signifi cance is the fact that the company has embarked on a major transformation path designed to deliver modern telecommunications services that are convenient to access at competitive prices, fulfi lling its role, as the title of this annual report suggests, keeping The Bahamas connected to the world. 6 >> BTC Annual Report 2007 Management Report ur industry is more dynamic Region (CALA) was among the fastest and robust than it has ever growing markets when compared to Obeen. In 2007 worldwide Europe, the Middle East, Africa and telecom providers increased capital the Asian regions. expenditure by 7% over 2006 to top Mobile and multimedia services $251 billion. Correspondingly, rev- continue to contribute signifi cantly enues were in excess of $1.3 trillion. to most service providers’ revenues The Caribbean Latin American with new smart phones serving as a catalyst in this growth. Time magazine named the iPhone the invention of the Mobile Customers Mobile Revenues year after 146,000 units were sold in the fi rst 30 hours,one million phones 31st December 2006 >> 291,154 31st December 2006 >> $211.6 mn in just 74 days and two million in six 31st December 2007 >> 286,159 31st December 2007 >> $244.5 mn months. With over 2.7 billion customers GSM Roaming Agreements GSM Roaming by Countries worldwide, the growing cellular 31st December 2006 >> 84 31st December 2006 >> 56 Countries customer base continues to be the dominant contributor to telecom 31st December 2007 >> 138 31st December 2007 >> 78 Countries providers’ revenue. BTC Annual Report 2007 >> 7 BTC’s fi gures are in line with the international trend: increased subscriber growth in wireless and ‘ Time’ magazine named the broadband and minimal or no growth in wireline. iPhone the invention of the year Beginning in 2006, major focus was placed on building the national infrastructure to support the growing after 146,000 units were sold in demands for telecommunications supporting resort, residential and the first 30 hours, one million business development throughout the archipelago of The Bahamas. This phones in just 74 days and objective was manifested in a $60 million Bahamas Domestic Submarine Cable Network (BDSNi) connecting two million in six months. 14 major islands of the island nation in a self-healing ring topology with a spur to the Republic of Haiti. Having “connected” all of the larger Family Islands in a way that would Wireless Subscribers ensure their access to ultra modern 350,000 telecommunications and information 300,000 technologies, we turned our focus to the customer experience through: 250,000 200,000 >> Continuing the change of our 150,000 corporate DNA to a corporate culture of customer centricity 100,000 >> Making customer satisfaction our 50,000 top priority >> Deploying GSM and CDMA 0 cellular technologies and high- 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 speed internet access (DSL) 121,759 122,228 186,007 227,771 291,154 286,076 to the Family Islands Total Wireless Revenues 2002-2007 ($Millions) These initiatives were intended to increase revenue, improve customer 250 satisfaction and expand coverage in accordance with our vision to keep The Bahamas competitive in the 200 global community. Mobile services continue to 150 contribute the highest revenues of all our products and accounted for $244 million, or 68% of revenue this 100 year, an increase of 15.55% over 2006. In 2007, BTC’s contribution to direct 50 government revenue in franchise fees and customs duties alone totalled 0 $16.1 million. In April 2007, we 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 85.3 104.4 126.4 180.8 211.6 244.5 8 >> BTC Annual Report 2007 In 2007, BTC contributed $16..1 million in the form of franchise fees and visiting The Bahamas on business or for pleasure. customs duties to the pubic purse. By the end of 2007, there were roaming agreements for 138 networks in 78 countries, compared to roaming launched our CDMA inbound-only agreements for 84 networks in 56 roaming cellular services with countries at the end of the previous agreements with Verizon and Sprint. year, an increase of 64.3% and 39.3% We were also able to add seven more respectfully.