Opening Bell – Telkom grows subscribers, but financials contract

Telkom published a trading update for the quarter ended 30 June 2022 that shows an increase in subscriber numbers but lower revenue.

The results revealed that active mobile subscribers increased 7.8% year on year to 17.3 million.

On the fibre front, the number of homes passed grew 45.3% to 890 000, and the number of connected homes grew 35.2% to 415 000.

Despite the subscriber growth, revenue contracted by 3.2% to R10.3 billion, and EBITDA is down 15.2% to R2.3 billion.

Here are the biggest news stories of the day.

• Royal Bafokeng Platinum contracts. The company released its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022, which revealed a revenue decrease of 14.7% and an earnings per share decrease of 58.4% to R7.65, down from R18.40. The company reduced its dividend in line with its performance to R2.45 per share – a reduction of 54.2%.

• Massmart expects results in line with last year but still loses over a billion rand. The retailer released a trading statement for its expected interim results and guided to a net loss of around R1.1 billion. The company’s results are due to be released on 29 August.

• Geopolitical tensions rise due to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The US House of Representatives Speaker is due to arrive in Taipei today. Chinese warplanes were reported to do a fly-by close to the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait.

• The first shipment of grain from Ukraine leaves the port of Odesa.

• The Reserve Bank of Australia hikes rates by 50 basis points, following a 6.1% inflation number.

• Activision Blizzard, planned to be bought by Microsoft, beats revenue expectations despite the gaming slowdown. The producer of the popular video game franchise “Call of Duty”, had bookings (revenue) of $1.64 billion versus an expected $1.59 billion. It is, however, still down 14% year-over-year. Earnings per share were in line with expectations at $0.47. Microsoft is still waiting to find out if regulators will approve its $68.7 billion acquisition.

• Pinterest financials miss expectations, but share price still jumps 22% after-hours. The jump is attributed to a separate statement by an activist investor, Elliott Management, that it is the biggest shareholder in Pinterest and has “conviction in the value-creation opportunity” of the company. Earnings per share were $0.11 per share versus $0.18 expected. Revenue came in at $666 million, largely in line with expectations. Global monthly active users declined by 5% to 433 million.

• Telkom grows the number of clients but financials contract. The company’s quarterly results show active mobile subscribers increased 7.8% year on year to 17.3 million. On the fibre front, the number of homes passed grew 45.3% to 890 000, and the number of connected homes grew 35.2% to 415 000, representing a connectivity rate of 46.6%. Despite this, revenue contracted by 3.2% to R10.3 billion, and EBITDA was down 15.2% to R2.3 billion.