South African state-owned company gets R214 million boost from selling property

Telkom is on a strong financial path following turnaround efforts implemented over the past few years.

The sale of several properties, as well as strong growth in data revenue, have boosted the telecommunications company’s results for its current financial year.

On Monday, 16 February, Telkom released a trading update for the third quarter ended 31 December 2025, as well as an overview of its year-to-date performance for the 2026 financial year.

This update revealed that Telkom’s revenue grew by 2.7% in the year to date (YTD). This was supported by strong growth in data revenue, which jumped 8.5% and contributed the lion’s share of group revenue.

The company also saw strong growth in fibre-related data revenue, which was up 11.1% to R6.18 billion year-to-date.

Also impressive was Telkom’s mobile data revenue, which grew by 11.2% YTD, driven by strong growth in mobile data subscribers and traffic. 

However, these strong performances were partially offset by a revenue decline in Telkom’s BCX business, which continued to struggle.

BCX’s revenue declined by 5.9% in the YTD, which the company attributed to tough market conditions and revenue strain in the converged communications segment.

This contrasts strong performances from Telkom’s Mobile and Openserve businesses, which grew revenue by 7.6% and 2.5%, respectively, in the YTD.

Despite this drag on its results, Telkom managed to grow its EBITDA by 7.8% YTD, with an EBITDA margin of 27.9%. 

The company explained that this was due to cost optimisation initiatives across its business units. 

“Our total adjusted costs declined for the period and were flat YTD,” the company said. “We also experienced a decrease of impairment of receivables due to rigorous credit vetting in Consumer and the continuing proactive receivables management by BCX.”

Amid its cost-saving initiatives, Telkom has still invested heavily in its operations in the 2026 financial year so far.

The company invested R1.30 billion in capex during the third quarter, totalling R4.17 billion in the YTD. A significant portion of this spending was directed to Telkom’s growth areas of mobile and fibre.

The Mobile business invested R676 million primarily in capacity expansion and base-station upgrades, adding 150 sites during the third quarter. 

For its Openserve business, the company allocated R557 million to capex to expand and modernise the network, leading to passing 47,596 homes and connecting 30,081 in the third quarter alone.

Telkom’s results also saw a boost from sale proceeds, as the company has been in the process of selling some of its properties and streamlining its portfolio.

The company received R6 million in proceeds from the transfer of six properties during the third quarter. As a result, 21 properties have now been transferred YTD, totalling R214 million in proceeds. 

Now, only nine properties, valued at R66 million, remain on the chopping block and are still in the conveyancing process.