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JOHANNESBURG, May 11 (Reuters) - South African mobile
operator Vodacom Group reported a 8.9% rise in annual
earnings on Monday, buoyed by an improved second-half
performance in its domestic market and the sustained growth of
its international businesses.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS), the main profit measure
in South Africa, for the full-year ended March fell to 945 cents
from 868 cents a year earlier.
Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone,
declared a final dividend of 405 cents per share.
The company said it will be postponing the issuance of
medium-term targets, "until such time that we have more clarity
on the economic outlook and the effect on our business and
operations over the medium term."
Group revenue rose by 4.8% to 90.7 billion rand ($4.97
billion), with group service revenue up 5%.
"The past year has been characterised by strong customer
growth - we now connect 116 million customers across the group,
including Safaricom – and the benefits of prudent portfolio
diversification," Group Chief Executive Shameel Joosub said in a
statement.
In South Africa, sharp data price reductions announced in
the first quarter led to a steady rise in data traffic as the
year progressed with 1.9 million more data customers connecting
to the Vodacom network, Joosub said.
The increased data usage and 21.5% jump in financial service
revenue led to service revenue in South Africa, its biggest
market, rising 2.3%.
An additional 4 million customers and increased demand for
data and financial services under M-Pesa in each of its
operations contributed to a 12.5% increase in service revenue
across its international operations.
Its investment in Safaricom, Kenya's biggest
telecoms company, delivered a 30.4% boost in profits, with
growth bolstered by currency factors and the new M-Pesa joint
venture.
($1 = 18.2589 rand)
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Kim Coghill and Louise
Heavens)
