Johannesburg - Telkom SA SOC said full-year earnings and the
dividend both rose as South Africa’s biggest landline provider enters a new
phase of growth by giving more autonomy to its four business units.
Earnings per share excluding one-time items increased by 12
percent 7.31 rand in the year through March, the Pretoria-based company
said in a statement on Monday. Operating revenue gained 9.8 percent and the
dividend payout rose 56 percent to 4.22 rand a share.
“We made significant strides in a difficult operating environment
which was characterized by regulatory uncertainty, increased competition and a
weak economic environment,” Chief Executive Officer Sipho Maseko said in
the statement.
The integration of 2015 acquisition BCX into the
business-to-business division and the accelerated growth of the mobile-phone
unit drove the earnings increase, the CEO said.
Read also: Telkom shares jump 10%
Following a three-year turnaround strategy that returned
Telkom to profit, Maseko is giving the company’s four business units more
independence to further boost earnings.
The phone operator, almost 40 percent owned by the South
African government, started a mobile unit, the country’s fourth biggest, to
offset a decline in landline use and challenge market leaders Vodacom Group and MTN Group. Telkom shares rose 3.1 percent to 75.99 rand on Friday, and
have soared more than 400 percent under Maseko’s watch. That values the company
at 40 billion rand ($3.1 billion).
Capital expenditure increased 43 percent to 8.7 billion rand
as the company invested in fibber networks and the wireless business. Mobile
subscriber numbers rose by 48 percent to about 4 million.