Telkom has started its financial year on a strong note, with group revenue increasing by 1.1% to R10.8 billion in the first quarter. The telecommunications company, listed on the JSE, published its trading update for the quarter that ended on 30 June. Key drivers of this growth were a 7.8% increase in mobile service revenue from Telkom Consumer and an 11.3% rise in fibre data revenue from Openserve.
The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6.5% to R2.8 billion, a result of cost efficiencies and an improvement in the EBITDA margin. Telkom’s data-focused strategy has been successful, with mobile data subscribers growing by 27.5% to 17.2 million and a 17.5% increase in homes connected to fibre.
Group CEO Serame Taukobong expressed his pleasure with the solid results, noting that the data-led strategy is a competitive advantage that is helping to sustain momentum. He also highlighted the increased contribution of mobile data and fibre services to total revenue. However, the company noted that the positive results were negatively impacted by the performance of BCX, whose revenue dropped by 8.3%. A special team has been put in place to work on a faster turnaround for BCX. Telkom says it expects to see continued growth and improved profitability by maintaining disciplined operational execution.