Things are looking up for Telkom\u2019s loss-making mobile phone business as the company on Friday reported stronger revenues.<\/p>\n
For the quarter ended June 30, Telkom [JSE:TKG] said that its mobile net revenue was up 68.5% to approximately R350m.<\/p>\n
Telkom Mobile still incurred a loss of approximately R30m during the quarter but the company noted that \u201cthis is an 87.9% improvement compared to the prior comparative period\u201d.<\/p>\n
The company further reported that its active mobile subscriber base has grown 11.7% in the quarter to just over 2.1 million subscribers.<\/p>\n
Telkom Mobile\u2019s blended average revenue per user (ARPU) also sits at R82.87 while its post-paid customers base grew by 61.9% and its prepaid base decreased by 1.3%.<\/p>\n
During the quarter, Telkom made aggressive plays in the mobile market with tariff cuts and promotions on its LTE offerings.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mobile business continues to grow and we remain confident of achieving break-even during this financial year,\u201d said Telkom in its quarterly update.<\/p>\n
In turn, Telkom\u2019s mobile business is even helping to halt the effects of a slowing fixed-line market as its net revenue increased to R6.5bn.<\/p>\n
\u201cNet operating revenue has increased 1.7% compared to the comparative period as a result of the strong performance by mobile on data revenue and higher fixed-line subscription revenue,” Telkom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was partly offset by the continuing decline in fixed-line voice usage, due to mobile substitution, and leased line revenues, as a result of customers migrating to newer and cheaper technologies,” Telkom added.<\/p>\n
Telkom reported that its fixed-line usage revenue had fallen 13.7%, largely as a result of a 5.3% decline in the number of voice lines to 3.394 million.<\/p>\n
The telecoms company also said that it experienced at 14.5% decline in leased line and higher capacity connectivity revenue.<\/p>\n
Among the bright spots in its fixed-line results, though, was a revenue increase of 9.2% for subscriptions and an increase of 6.3% in ADSL subscribers to 1 014 562.<\/p>\n
Following the announcement of the quarterly results, Telkom\u2019s share price was over 6% higher at the close of trade in Johannesburg on Friday as the share surpassed the R61 mark.<\/p>\n
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