Nothing to call home about
NEWS ANALYSIS: Vodacom's vanilla results
The mobile operator has released tepid results on the back of its Safaricom purchase, investment in data networks
Vodacom investors, attracted by the company’s historically fat dividend yield, were none too pleased with its half-year results, in which the payout was cut 1.3%, to 390c. CEO Shameel Joosub says that’s all to do with the new shares issued to pay for Vodacom’s 34.9%, R35bn stake in Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom. "It’s the first time they’re seeing the impact of the Safaricom transaction — but they’ll also see the benefit in years to come," he tells the Financial Mail. Vodacom shares shed 3.3% on Monday, taking the stock’s losses to more than 20% since it peaked at R185.51 in August, and analysts say its SA operations produced "softer than expected" results in the first half. Group revenue grew 4.6% to R42bn as Vodacom added 4.3m customers, taking its total subscriber base to just over 71m. Headline EPS were just 1.1% higher at 445c and normalised operating profit fell 2.2%, partly due to a higher depreciation charge as the company sank more money into its data-hungry networks. Fo...
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