Earnings rise for Vox

Johannesburg - Independent telecom operator Vox Telecom [JSE:VOX] on Wednesday announced diluted headline earnings per share of 6.45 cents for the year ended August 2010, from 6.18 cents previously.

It noted a diluted basic loss of 61.32 cents from diluted basic earnings of 5.49 cents earlier.
 
Revenue declined 1% to R2.07bn while operating profit dropped to R108m from R132m in 2009.

"The decline in revenue was largely due to the group's strategic decision to reduce its dependence on SIMs in anticipation of converting customers onto Cristal Vox, as well as the result of a drop in the Call Termination Rates (CTR) to 89c in March 2010," Vox said.

The group said continued focus on cash flow generation had allowed it to invest a further R36m into its network and other fixed assets as well as further reduce long-term debt obligations by R84m.

"The clarity Vox now has in the regulatory environment means the company is able to focus on its vision of striving to be the leading independent, alternative provider of voice and data solutions to the Southern African market with its key goals and objectives remaining unchanged," it said.

It is building its own network in anticipation of interconnect rates changing.

The group said that the launch of Cristal Vox in 2009 was a direct response to this change.
 
Vox Orion was affected by changes in the CTR environment as the majority of its customers use cellular Least Cost Routing (LCR) products.

"This service has historically resulted in major savings when making outbound calls from Telkom to one of the mobile operator networks."

Since 2009 the firm has attempted to convert Vox Orion customers from LCR services to Cristal Vox.

"This conversion process requires technical changes at