Telkom resumes dividends as earnings jump 62.3%

Image: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

In 2020, the operator of South Africa's biggest fixed-line network announced the suspension of dividends for the next three financial years starting in 2021 to conserve cash for spectrum auctions and strengthen its financial position.

However, after reaching the initial target, the under-pressure operator delayed resuming dividend payments as it faced challenging market conditions.

"This year's robust performance and strategic execution allow us to share the fruits of our success with shareholders by distributing both an ordinary and a special dividend. In total, the group will return R1.3bn ($73.28m) to its shareholders," Telkom said in a statement.

Telkom, majority-owned by the government, said its headline earnings per share for continuing operations rose to 467.5c in the year ended 31 March, up from 288.1c a year earlier.

Telkom - which owns a big chunk of the fast-growing home and business fibre market - declared a final dividend of 163c per share.

Revenue increased by 3.3% to R43.8bn, surpassing expectations due to strong growth in mobile service revenue, which rose 10.2%, and fibre-related data revenue, up 10%. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecasted revenue of R43.5bn.

Group adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) jumped by 25.1% to R11.7bn, while the EBITDA margin expanded by 4.7 percentage points to 26.9% due to cost-optimisation initiatives.