Vodacom slides on flat earnings
Shares in Vodacom declined 3.58% in morning trade on Wednesday, after its results for the quarter ended December 2012, failed to impress investors.
By 10:30am, shares in Vodacom dropped R4.34 – or 3.58% – to R117.01 on the JSE. In the year to date period, Vodacom has declined from R125.15, and a high of R129.83.
The All Share Index, meanwhile, remained flat at 40,658 points.
An analyst at PSG Konsult told BusinessTech: “While Vodacom saw a healthy increase in active customers, group revenue only increased 1.7%.”
“There is a lot of competition at the moment, particularly from Cell C, which is putting pressure on their (Vodacom) margins. Overall, it’s pretty disappointing,” he said.
On Wednesday (6 February), Vodacom reported a 2.2% rise in revenue for its South African operation to R15.5 billion for the quarter ended 31 December 2012, driven by a 27.2% growth in equipment revenue from smartphone and tablet sales.
Group revenue increased 1.7% to R18.3 billion, impacted by the sale of Gateway Carrier Services on 31 August 2012 as well as movements in foreign exchange, Vodacom said.
Service revenue declined 1.7% year on year to R12.5 billion.
Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO said: “It’s been a quarter with strong performances in data and our International operations tempered by some challenges in our South African business.”
“While customers increased, voice revenue in South Africa was impacted by more active competition in a softer economy.”
Active customers in SA increased 11.7% year on year to 30.6 million, while group active customers increased 12.2% to 51.0 million.
More on Vodacom
Vodacom lifted by smartphone and tablet sales
Foreigners eye MTN and Vodacom
Vodacom profits beat Vodafone UK
Loading ...