Publications
Partners
In a day of mixed news for corporate SA, more ICT-focused Telkom and 4Sight managed to please the market with their updates. SA's platinum group metal miners, however, are having a far tougher time.
SA's third-biggest mobile operator, Telkom reported it grew its revenue by 2% to R11.3 billion in its third quarter to end-September, boosted by data, higher prepaid recharges, as well as the ongoing rollout of fibre. Group core profit was stable at about R2.5 billion, it said, adding it still felt some pressure from the decline in traditional voice and data. Mobile subscribers grew by 6.4% to 19.7 million, while mobile data traffic increased by almost a fifth. The number of homes connected to fibre also picked up just over a fifth to 567 350. "Group performance for the quarter was pleasing against a strong comparative quarter and Telkom managed to grow the top line as compelling value propositions drove next generation revenue growth and operating earnings, thereby affirming our data-led strategy," group CEO Serame Taukobong said in a statement. "Our cost-reduction initiatives also contributed to improved operating [core profit] as they partially offset inflationary increases, increased bad debt provisions and the added cost of load shedding." Taukobong added the progress being made by its consumer business and fibre was "impressive". Telkom gained about 3.7% on Monday but has still fallen more than a fifth in the past 12 months.
ICT group 4Sight Holdings reported that revenue climbed more than a third in its year to end-December, with operating profit up more than 70% and headline earnings per share more than doubling. 4Sight, valued at about R535 million on the JSE, focuses upon a cross-section of established, new, and emerging technologies. These include artificial intelligence solutions with machine learning, big data, cloud and business intelligence. It benefitted significantly from reduced foreign exchange losses, but also grew its partner network, which deploys major vendor solutions into businesses. "Our unwavering commitment to executing the long-term business strategy we first implemented during the Covid period in 2020 has created a stable business model that continues to drive growth and deliver robust returns," CEO Tertius Zitzke said in a statement. "The ability to remotely service multiple countries from South Africa and deploy projects to customers internationally has contributed massively to our success," he added. The group was unchanged on Monday but is up almost 85% so far in 2024 and has more than tripled in the past year.
