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Johannesburg - Mobile services provider Vodacom Group [JSE:VOD], majority owned by Britain's Vodafone, posted a 38.4% rise in first-half earnings on Monday, helped by the removal of one-time charges and hiked its dividend.
Vodacom, the dominant mobile phone operator in Africa's biggest economy, said headline earnings per share for the six months to end-September rose to 303c, compared with 218.7c a year and at the top end of its own forecast range of 285c to 307c.
Headline EPS is the main gauge of earnings in South Africa and strips out certain one-time and financial items.
The group, which has mobile operations in five African countries, said it expected its full-year capital expenditure to be lower at R6.8bn.
The company said it increased its first-half dividend by 64% to 180c. It also said it had bought back R959m of its own shares, as it looks to increase returns to shareholders.
Vodacom, the largest mobile player in South Africa and now has a customer base of 39.4 million, is overshadowed across the continent by rival MTN Group [JSE:MTN].
It faces new competition from former shareholder Telkom [JSE:TKG], which last month launched its own mobile business, 8.ta.
Regulatory changes may also negatively impact Vodacom's revenue as the country's telephone regulator is forcing mobile phone companies to cut the fees they charged to handle calls from other providers.
Vodacom, the dominant mobile phone operator in Africa's biggest economy, said headline earnings per share for the six months to end-September rose to 303c, compared with 218.7c a year and at the top end of its own forecast range of 285c to 307c.
Headline EPS is the main gauge of earnings in South Africa and strips out certain one-time and financial items.
The group, which has mobile operations in five African countries, said it expected its full-year capital expenditure to be lower at R6.8bn.
The company said it increased its first-half dividend by 64% to 180c. It also said it had bought back R959m of its own shares, as it looks to increase returns to shareholders.
Vodacom, the largest mobile player in South Africa and now has a customer base of 39.4 million, is overshadowed across the continent by rival MTN Group [JSE:MTN].
It faces new competition from former shareholder Telkom [JSE:TKG], which last month launched its own mobile business, 8.ta.
Regulatory changes may also negatively impact Vodacom's revenue as the country's telephone regulator is forcing mobile phone companies to cut the fees they charged to handle calls from other providers.
