JOHANNESBURG: Telkom said full-year profit fell 27 percent as South Africa’s biggest landline provider cut jobs and embarked on the last financial year of its turnaround plan.
Net income was R2.25 billion ($149 million) in the year through March, compared with R3.1 billion the previous year, the Pretoria-based company said in a statement on Monday. Operating revenue gained 14 percent to R37.3 billion. The operator offered severance and retirement packages to 3 878 employees during the year, at a cost of R2.2 billion. “This financial year marks the end of the turnaround phase of our business,” CEO Sipho Maseko said in the statement.
“We have executed well on the targets we set for ourselves three years ago which included: de-risking the mobile business, managing traditional revenue decline, focusing on operational and capital efficiencies and improving customer experience.”
Maseko has been trying to reduce costs by cutting jobs as consumers switch to data-enabled smartphones and tablets from landlines. The company is also trying to increase profit at its mobile service, South Africa’s fourth-biggest, and boost sales of its internet offering. Telkom will pay a dividend of R2.70 a share, up 10 percent on the previous year. The stock gained 3.3 percent to R60 on Friday, the highest since January 29, valuing the company at R32 billion.
