Author: Gugu Lourie

Telkom announced on Tuesday that the disposal of its masts and towers business, Swiftnet, is at an advance stage. Telkom also announced that Swiftnet continued commercialising its productive portfolio and saw marginal revenue growth of 0.9% to R1 304 million in the year to end-March 2023. The company said this was driven by construction of 66 additional towers and eight new in-building coverage solutions (IBS) sites. “Continued modernisation by mobile network operators (MNOs) on our sites, coupled with new base station sites and the deployment of 5G by our clients, grew revenue from continuing customers by 10.3%, mitigating the impact…

Telkom Mobile has increased its subscriber base by 7.8% to 18.3 million customers in the year to end-March 2023, Telkom announced on Tuesday. The mobile service revenue growth of 1.8% was supported by the growth in subscribers. “The post-paid strategy paid off as the post-paid base grew by 11.0% to reach the 3 million customers. The pre-paid base grew by 7.2% to 15.3 million,” said Telkom. “We extended our network footprint, using the newly acquired spectrum to enhance LTE coverage and launch 5G services,” says Serame Taukobong, Telkom CEO, said. “This benefited the mobile broadband subscriber base, which grew 9.2%…

Inflationary pressures and increased operational costs plunged South Africa’s Telkom full year headline earnings per share (HEPS) by 76.6% to fell to 134.6 cents from 575.3 cents in the previous year. The company also said HEPS – South Africa’s main profit gauge – was impacted by lower EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation). “This was due to a 19.8% decline in EBITDA and a 9.5% increase in depreciation, amortisation, impairments and write-offs*, partially offset by a lower tax expense compared to the prior year,” said Telkom. The company said it was also attributable to the impact of accelerated…

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) said on Friday that it intends to issue a tender to appoint a consultant to assist it in the licencing of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum. ICASA said the consultant’s duties will include conducting an auction in several IMT bands. The auction of the IMT spectrum is expected to be completed in 2024. The amended Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations mandate the market-based approach for efficient spectrum management. This includes the use of an auction process for licencing spectrum where demand exceeds supply. “This important process seeks to ensure universal availability of broadband…

JSE-listed retailer TFG, formerly known as The Foschini Group, said TFG Africa conservatively estimated to have lost about 360,000 trading hours in the 12 months to 31 March 2023 due to Eskom’s load shedding. However, as previously reported, the retailer estimates the actual impact to be more than double this figure (i.e. approximately 730,000 lost trading hours) as customer demand is significantly dampened by the associated disruption and inconvenience with reduced customer footfall before, during and immediately after load shedding periods. “We estimate the financial impact of load shedding to have reduced TFG Africa’s retail turnover by in excess of…

JSE-listed retailer TFG, formerly known as The Foschini Group, today announced a 6.6% increase in online retail revenue for the year ending March 2023. The retailer said online retail sales contributed 9.1% to the group’s total sales. TFG Africa’s retail sales increased by 17.2% compared to the same period in the previous financial year. The retailer added that TFG Africa’s online retail sales increased by 33.2% and now contribute 3.5% to TFG Africa’s total retail sales. TFG Africa’s outlet retail turnover, increased by 16.7% and now contribute 96.5% to TFG Africa’s total sales. “This region experienced heightened consumer pressure, unprecedented…

TymeBank is onboarding more than 300 000 customers a month in both South Africa and the Philippines, according to its majority shareholder, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), which is owned by billionare Patrice Motsepe. ARC said Tyme (including TymeBank and GoTyme) has an annual revenue run rate of over R1.9 billion. The company added that across its two markets – South Africa and the Philippines – the business is growing at a pace of 300,000 new customers a month as it works to provide consumers, particularly the underserved and financially excluded portion of the population, quality financial services. TymeBank now serves…

Volvo Car South Africa has confirmed the freshly revealed EX30 is destined for local roads, while also announcing the brand-new fully electric SUV’s highly anticipated starting price. That figure looks set to render the EX30 one of the most affordable full-size electric vehicles (EVs) in South Africa. Having just made its global premiere, the new small SUV represents the cornerstone of Volvo’s electrification growth ambitions. It debuts as the fastest-accelerating Volvo ever, completing the 0-100 km/h sprint in a mere 3.6 seconds in 315 kW Twin Motor Performance guise. The extended-range version of the Single Motor (rear-wheel drive) powertrain, meanwhile,…

Discovery Bank today announced a partnership with Rubicon, a trusted industry leader in solar solutions. This partnership will offer savings to Discovery Bank clients on high-quality solar and back-up power services for their homes. This reflects the Bank’s commitment to providing its clients with trusted, convenient, and flexible solutions. Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery Bank, says,” While South Africans are resilient, the increased and ongoing interruption of electricity impacts all aspects of our lives and drives a need to find alternative ways to power our homes. We’re pleased to launch a financing solution that enables our clients to embrace solar,…

There is good news for drivers on Wednesday as the price of petrol and diesel will be dropping. The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe, announces the adjustment of fuel prices based on current local and international factors with effect from the 7th of June 2023. South Africa’s fuel prices are adjusted on a monthly basis, informed by international and local factors. International factors include the fact that South Africa imports both crude oil and finished products at a price set at the international level, including importation costs, e.g. shipping costs. The main reasons for the fuel…