G4S Botswana turns to technology against rising crime
G4S Botswana Managing Director, Mothusi Molokomme said the group has resolved to invest in modern security technology, following the heightened national security risk, observable from security events reported during the last quarter of 2021.
The acquisition of G4S globally by Allied Universal also provides an opportunity to tap into new cutting- edge technology, which enables G4S Botswana to deliver improved solutions. The company plans to introduce these offerings into the local market next year.
He said the deployment of integrated security solutions is expected to yield a longterm improvement in margins compared to traditional security offerings and aligns the company to market demands in a post COVID- 19 environment. “The heightened national security risk, observable from security events reported during the last quarter of 2021, has bolstered our resolve to invest in modern security technology to better and safely serve our customers, and offer an opportunity to design modern security offerings to the market across all service lines.”
In the financial year ended December 2021, G4S recorded 21 percent increase in profit before tax to P24 million compared to P19.8 million in the prior year. The company stated that it will continue driving the sale of integrated security solutions to ensure that it remains at the forefront of security capability in Botswana.
Molokomme stated that with the COVID- 19 impact on the economy taking longer than expected to subside, the Group is deploying new and innovative ways of offering products and services efficiently and in a more affordable manner to customers. “A combination of these factors and the growth trajectory experienced this year make us confident that the year ahead will generate greater value for all our stakeholders. It is our firm belief that the market still offers attractive growth opportunities despite the various challenges that exist.”
The Group revenue increased by 2.2 percent year on year, showing a marginal improvement in the national appetite for security spend following the emergence of the economy from a COVID- 19 lockdown marred 2020. Manned guarding income grew by 6.9 percent and cash income increased by 4.6 percent. However, the service line for electronic services declined by 8.1 percent due to the emergence of new entrants at low service rates into the alarm monitoring and response market. G4S Group highlighted in its financial results that the lingering impact of COVID- 19 on household expenditure, being the primary driver for the price sensitivity of the residential sector, has seen alarm customers reducing services due to non- affordability, or migrating services to the cheapest available alternative. “Gross profit for the period declined by 9.2 percent attributable to the revenue mix of the Group, with revenue increasing in less profitable service lines while simultaneously seeing a revenue reduction in more profitable service lines.” The group expects to increase the price of its services in the cash and manned guarding service lines in 2022 to recover the continued increase of the cost of providing services.