Telkom South Africa Records 62.3% Increase in YoY Revenue, Resumes Shareholder Dividend Payment

The telecom giants had in 2020 announced the suspension of dividends for the next three financial years starting in 2021 to conserve cash for spectrum auctions and strengthen their financial position but was unable to resume dividend payments after 2023 as planned.

Announcing the belated resumption, Telkom in a statement said, “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 1.3 billion rand ($73.28 million) to its shareholders.”

Telkom also declared a final dividend of 163 cents per share and a special dividend of 98 cents per share, thanks to proceeds from the disposal of its mast and tower business, comprising approximately 4,000 masts and towers, Swiftnet to a consortium led by Actis LLP and Royal Bafokeng Holdings for R6.75 billion (USD 354 million).

In its latest report, Telkom said its headline earnings per share for continuing operations rose to 467.5 cents in the year ended March 31.

Revenue increased by 3.3% to 43.8 billion rand, surpassing expectations due to strong growth in mobile service revenue, which rose 10.2%, and fibre-related data revenue, up 10%. Its free cash flow improved to 2.8 billion rand from 424 million rand, driven by cost-optimization initiatives, improvement in revenue and disposal programme while its profit for the year was up 91.4 % to 2.7 billion rand.