Vodacom is targeting single-digit growth as the constrained economic environment takes a toll on consumers. The group reported a flat performance for the six months to September hurt by exchange-rate woes and tax adjustments. Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said the forecast was kept low because of tough trading conditions. Falcon Crest Asset Managers chief investment officer and portfolio manager Farai Mapfinya said the retail market, in which Vodacom and other telecom companies operated, was tough. "The share of wallet and semi-discretionary spending dynamics continue to be quite challenging. "Communication, however, has become and will remain a crucial commodity which bodes well for the telco operators." Vodacom’s headline earnings per share for the period was unchanged at R4.40, negatively affected by a tax adjustment in Tanzania and foreign currency costs. Excluding these, and the loss in the year before from associates, headline earnings per share grew 3.5%. Group revenue ros...
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