Telkom dials up mobile numbers as landlines die
A surge in mobile broadband subscribers helped the company compensate for fewer landline customers, but profit suffered
Telkom managed to offset the continued slide of customer numbers for its traditional fixed-line telephone business with impressive growth in the mobile broadband market. SA’s historic phone-monopoly suffered a 9.6% annual decline in fixed access line subscribers to 2.57-million while growing its mobile broadband customers 67% to 4.75-million. Competing against its erstwhile subsidiary Vodacom in the mobile market helped Telkom grow its interim revenue 5.2% to R20.8bn for the six months to end-September. But its net profit declined 0.4% to R1.6bn, and Telkom cut its interim dividend by 5% to R1.12 from R1.18. Telkom segments itself into four divisions. Former JSE-listed computer group Business Connexion Group (BCX), which Telkom acquired in a long process first announced in 2007, is its largest revenue generator, contributing 44% of the group's total income. Tuesday’s results statement confirmed reports that Telkom is retrenching BCX staff. “We have commenced with the initiatives to ...
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