Blue Label Telecoms, the JSE-listed company, said on Wednesday earnings for the six-month period ended 30 November 2020 would increase slightly by between 0% an 4% compared to the same period last year.
The company, which owns 45% of struggling Cell C, said the increase in basic earnings per share was attributable to the disposal of the Group’s 47.56% interest in Blue Label Mexico.
Blue Label Telecoms and Nasdaq-listed Net 1 have all written down to zero the value of their stakes in Cell C.
It also said earnings benefitted from a positive decision to stop trading of the retail division of the WiConnect stores.
“The performance of the Blue Label Group remains resilient in an adverse economic environment,” the company informed investors.
“In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has continued to deliver essential services, including electricity, airtime, data and other digital services, as well as providing financial transactional services, which have not been negatively impacted.
“Cash flow generated by the group strengthened, with cash generated from operating activities amounting to R970 million in the current period.”
The company added that its core headline earnings for the current period amounted to R376 million, of which R351 million related to continuing operations and R25 million to discontinued operations.
“On exclusion of non-recurring income pertaining to foreign exchange gains of R22 million, core headline earnings from continued operations amounted to R329 million, equating to core headline earnings of 37.35 cents per share.”
