Where should we invest our money?
Telecoms operators with deliberate strategies to grow mobile data and mobile money are the best bet for investors, experts say
Telecoms companies on the JSE have delivered strong performances so far in 2019. But finding new sources of revenue will be essential to future growth, as changes in technology and consumer behaviour have resulted in a decline of the staple voice business.Peter Takaendesa, portfolio manager at Mergence Investment Managers, says: "MTN and Telkom are leading this year. They’ve delivered stronger numbers if you look at earnings growth and revenue performance."At the time of writing, MTN’s share price was up 11%, with Telkom showing the most gains, rising 16%. Vodacom’s growth has been flat.Despite delivering the strongest growth for the year, Telkom, which grew its subscribers by 85% in the past financial year to 9.7-million, is trading at the same multiple as Vodacom, Takaendesa says. That’s why some are a bit cautious about Telkom, he adds.US bank JPMorgan said in July — when Telkom shares were trading at close to R90 — that investors were probably too optimistic about Telkom’s fast-...
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