Johannesburg - Africa's largest telecoms provider MTN posted a 22-percent rise in first-half earnings on Wednesday, helped by foreign exchange gains from its international operations.
MTN said diluted headline earnings per share totalled 649 cents for the six months to end-June, compared with 532 cents last year. Headline EPS, the main profit gauge in South Africa, excludes certain one-time items.
Johannesburg-based MTN said earlier this month that its results would likely rise by as much as 25 percent.
MTN said it was helped by a 16-percent decline in the rand during the period. The company has 22 operations across Africa and the Middle East.
Group revenue rose 9.8 percent to R65.2-billion, and subscribers totalled 201.5 million, a 6.5-percent increase.
MTN said it expected to add a total of 21.1 million subscribers for the full year.
Shares are up 10.3 percent this year, broadly in line with the benchmark Top-40 index. - Reuters