JOHANNESBURG - TELKOM shares surged the most in more than a year on the JSE yesterday after investors cheered the growth in its mobile service revenue during the nine months ended December, which cushioned the impact of moribund fixed voice and interconnection revenue.
Telkom jumped 12.4 percent to R41.52 a share in intraday trade on the 40.7 percent growth in mobile service revenue to R12.5bn from R8.94bn a year earlier; active subscribers increased, helping group revenue to grow 0.9 percent to R32.43bn.
Chief executive Sipho Maseko said the group had delivered a solid set of results where growth was challenging due to Covid-19 and the strained South African economy.
“Telkom's broadband-led strategy and the decision to invest in infrastructure ahead of demand enabled us to meet the surge in demand for broadband services,” said Maseko, adding that strong mobile growth had driven overall growth, coupled with solid sustainable cost management and strong free cash flow generation.
Mobile service revenue growth was supported by the 25.9 percent growth in active subscribers to 14.9 million and prepaid customers grew by 30.8 percent to 12.3 million.
Telkom said its mobile broadband strategy continued to pay off as yearto-date mobile data revenue grew by 46.2 percent to R9.05bn from R6.19bn a year earlier. Telkom also posted an improved operational performance, as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) jumped by 8.5 percent to R8.6bn, up from R7.96bn a year earlier following ongoing sustainable cost management.
The improved Ebitda was mainly on the R710 million benefit of the phase one restructuring programme, said Telkom. Telkom shares closed 12.18 percent higher at R41.44 on the JSE yesterday.
BUSINESS REPORT