Serame Taukobong, the CEO of Telkom. Picture: Simphiwe Mbokazi
Telkom said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 28% to R2.99 billion in the nine months to December 31, 2024 (YTD), according to the group’s third-quarter trading update released Monday.
Third-quarter revenue rose by 0.9% to R10.99bn, bolstered by relatively strong mobile service revenue growth of 9.6%, which outperformed the South African mobile market. Year-to-date group revenue increased by 1.6% to R32.38bn.
“Our data-led strategy continued to deliver impressive performance across key metrics, underscoring our competitive advantage in our diverse businesses working together to realise these results,” group CEO Serame Taukobong aid in a statement.
The group realised cash proceeds of R621 million from the disposal of properties during the nine-month period. The directors said also that the company continued to benefit from operational efficiency gains.
The number of mobile subscribers increased by 21.6% to 24 million, with mobile data subscribers growing by 17.3%.
Homes passed by fibre increased by 13.1% to 1.3 million, with homes connected rising by 17.6%, leading to a connectivity rate of 49.8%, up by 1.9 percentage points.
Mobile and fixed data traffic grew by 22.2% and 23.7%, respectively.
The directors expressed a positive outlook, anticipating continued improvement in profitability due to the “disciplined execution of our data-led strategy.” The R6.75bn Swiftnet disposal was on track to close at the end of the 2025 financial year.
Adjusted financial measures for year-to-date performance reflected the underlying performance of Telkom's operations, excluding non-recurring items such as restructuring costs of R160m and the R618m impact of the Telkom Retirement Fund conversion from a defined benefit to a defined contribution fund.
The group’s medium-term guidance for revenue and EBITDA growth indicated a compound annual growth rate of low- to mid-single digits for total operations.
“We continued to deploy capital expenditure optimally, expanding our mobile and fixed networks. Our smart-capex approach to network investments also contributed to top-line growth while reducing direct costs and improving overall profitability,” Taukobong said..
Openserve continued to drive fibre data growth, with efficiency gains improving profitability.
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