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☆ South Africa's Vodacom half-year profit hit by Ethiopia costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 13 (Reuters) - South Africa's biggest telecoms operator Vodacom (VODJ.J) reported a 4.2% drop in half-year earnings on Monday, hit by the cost of starting operations in Ethiopia and higher interest rates. The company, which is majority owned by Britain's Vodafone (VOD.L), co-launched Safaricom Ethiopia last year, betting that the populous nation will power growth after about five years of investment. Group CEO Shameel Joosub said Safaricom Ethiopia has already reached 4.1 million customers and more recently it launched its mobile financial services business M-Pesa there. Group service revenue grew 42.2% to 59.3 billion rand ($3.16 billion), thanks to the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt and rand depreciation against its basket of international currencies. Excluding the contribution of Vodafone Egypt, group service revenue growth was 7.9% or 4.1% on a normalised basis, supported by a resilient performance in South Africa, the operator said.

Persons: Shameel Joosub, Nqobile Dludla, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Africa's, Vodacom, Britain's Vodafone, Vodafone, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, Ethiopia, Vodafone Egypt, South Africa

☆ S.Africa's first virtual renewable electricity transfer model to go live next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Oct 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's first virtual electricity transfer model is likely to go live by end of next year, a top government official said on Friday, a move that could rapidly ramp up renewable power consumption and reduce the burden on ailing state utility Eskom. The utility in August signed an agreement with Vodacom (VODJ.J), the African telecoms arm of Vodafone (VOD.L), to introduce an electricity transfer model known as virtual wheeling, which will allow a consumer to buy renewable power from any producer anywhere in the country. This is expected to make power from large renewable producers available to smaller users such as standalone buildings, housing societies and factories. "What we're trying to resolve really is to ensure that we protect the South African economy from total collapse," Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said during a conference. Vodacom's South Africa Chief Executive Sitho Mdlalose told Reuters this would help it to run its 15,000 network sites on renewable power.

Persons: Sun, Siphiwe, Ramokgopa, Onicah Rantwane, Sitho Mdlalose, Nqobile, Promit Mukherjee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Kendal Power, REUTERS, Rights, Vodacom, Vodafone, Electricity, Eskom, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kendal, Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG

☆ Safaricom launches M-Pesa mobile money service in Ethiopia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A customer displays the package of a Safaricom Ethiopia sim card during the service launch in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsADDIS ABABA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Safaricom's (SCOM.NR) M-Pesa mobile money service went live in Ethiopia on Wednesday, in a boost to the Kenyan telecoms operator as it seeks to kickstart growth in one of Africa's biggest economies. The company also faces stiff competition from Ethio Telecom, whose profits more than doubled in its latest financial year. In July, Ethio Telecom reported having more than 34 million subscribers to its mobile money service Telebirr. Mobile money services are common in East Africa, allowing customers to send and receive money and pay for goods and services.

Persons: Safaricom, Stanley Njoroge, Dawit, Elias Biryabarema, Aaron Ross, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, South Africa’s Vodacom, Britain’s Vodafone, Democratic, Ethio Telecom, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, ADDIS ABABA, Horn of Africa, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mobile, East Africa

☆ Telco tycoons’ UK bets look stuck underwater
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Set those complications aside, however, and his stake-building may have cost about 4.2 billion pounds overall since 2021. That’s according to Breakingviews calculations which use the share price from the day before each stake increase became public. The holding is now worth 3.6 billion pounds, implying a nearly 560 million pound or 13% loss. That’s mild compared with some of Vodafone’s investors. But UK consolidation would hardly move the needle as Vodafone is haggling to retain control of the merged entity.

☆ Vodacom reports 6.4% drop in full-year profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, May 15 (Reuters) - African telecoms major and South Africa's biggest mobile carrier Vodacom Group (VODJ.J) reported a 6.4% drop in full-year profit due to a local power crisis and other operational activities. Its headline earnings per share, a profit measure used in South Africa, came in at 948 South African cents for the year ended on March 31, down from 1,013 cents posted a year ago. The company, owned by Britain's Vodafone (VOD.L), has been investing to become a pan-African player, a leading financial services firm and strengthen its data offering in South Africa. But those efforts were dampened as South Africa, its biggest market in the region, has been struggling with rolling blackouts for up to 10 hours a day, forcing telecom firms to run their towers and network on diesel-run generators. ($1 = 18.3161 rand)Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa fights to keep phone networks up as lights go out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

A bank of expensive backup batteries, theft-proofed within a block of concrete. "Our costs have gone through the roof," lamented Sitho Mdlalose, managing director of Vodacom South Africa (VODJ.J). President Cyril Ramaphosa in February declared a national state of disaster, calling the crisis an existential threat to South Africa's social fabric. While most network towers in South Africa are equipped with a battery for backup power, more advanced systems are less common. That risks delaying South Africa's pivot to the digital economy and could leave rural areas, which already suffer from sparse coverage, lagging even further behind.

SummarySummary Companies Centrica, StanChart jump on upbeat earningsVodafone up on report exploring options for African UnitFTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 flatFeb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's internationally-focussed FTSE 100 on Thursday closed above 8,000 points for the first time as upbeat earnings from Centrica and Standard Chartered countered global risk-off sentiment after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 0.2%, off an intra-day record high hit earlier in the day, but still at its highest ever closing level of 8,012.53 points. The exporter-heavy index has had a stellar start to the year, gaining 7.5% so far as positive corporate earnings and rising commodity prices supported the index. Data showed U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in January while jobless claims unexpectedly fell, fanning speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve would keep raising interest rates for longer than expected. Shares of Centrica (CNA.L) jumped to top the FTSE 100, adding 5.7%, after the British Gas owner's annual profit more than tripled and it announced an extension of its share buyback programme.

☆ FTSE 100 at record high on positive Centrica, StanChart earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 hits record high, trading above 8,000 pointsCentrica, StanChart, Relx jump on upbeat resultsVodafone rises on report of looking at options for Africa unitFTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.4%Feb 16 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 rose to a record high on Thursday, underpinned by corporate earnings from Centrica and Standard Chartered, while higher commodity prices drove up heavyweight miners. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 0.3%, trading comfortably above the 8,000-point mark it had breached in the previous session. The exporter-heavy FTSE has had a stellar start to the year as positive corporate earnings and rising commodity prices supported the index. Shares of Centrica (CNA.L) jumped to top the FTSE 100, adding 4.2%, after the British gas owner's annual profit more than tripled and as it announced an extension of its share buyback programme. Standard Chartered (STAN.L) rose 1.8% after the lender reported a 28% rise in annual pretax profit and unveiled a $1 billion share buyback programme.

☆ Bank of America upgrades Vodafone, sees stock rising by nearly 50%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Vodafone 's stock price hit a 25-year low this month — but sentiment may be turning around. Bank of America analysts upgraded the U.K. company's stock to "buy" on Thursday, saying they expect shares to rise by 42% to £1.31 ($1.60) over the next 12 months. VOD 5Y line Despite this optimism, BofA's analysts believe Vodafone will still need to cut dividends by 30% to keep the balance sheet sustainable. Vantage Towers , previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone, owns 68,000 sites and was spun off from Vodafone in July 2020. Vodafone's London-listed shares are seen rising by 32% to £1.22 over the next 12 months.

☆ Vodacom Tanzania says first half EBITDA down 4% yer-on-year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DAR ES SALAAM, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Vodacom Tanzania (VODA.TZ) said on Friday its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 4% in the first half of the year, hurt by a drop in voice and mobile money transfer revenues. Tanzania's biggest telecoms operator, which is partly owned by South Africa's Vodacom Group Ltd (VODJ.J), said in a statement revenue for the first six months ended September 30 from its M-Pesa financial services operations fell 3% to 169.6 billion shillings ($73 million). Its voice revenues fell 2% to 143.8 billion shillings, while EBITDA fell to 154 billion shillings from 159.6 billion shillings in the same period last year, it said. ($1 = 2,329.0000 Tanzanian shillings)Reporting by Nuzulack Dausen; Editing by George Obulutsa and James Macharia ChegeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vodacom gets fibre boost as regulator approves transfer of DFA licences
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Andreas Rinke | Miranda Murray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A branch South African mobile communications provider Vodacom in Cape Town is shown in this picture taken November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Mike HutchingsJOHANNESBURG, Nov 9 (Reuters) - South Africa's Vodacom (VODJ.J) moved a step closer to a considerable expansion of its fibre footprint after the country's telecoms regulator approved the transfer of Dark Fibre Africa's licences to the mobile operator. If approved, Vodacom will also transfer its fibre assets to MAZIV. The deal gives South Africa's largest mobile operator exposure to the country's biggest open access fibre players. DFA is a leading provider of carrier-grade dark fibre - unused optical fibre - specialising in building, installing, and operating a national metro fibre network spanning 13,000 kilometres.

☆ South Africa's Telkom launches 5G network with Huawei
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 27 (Reuters) - South African telecoms operator Telkom (TKGJ.J) has launched its 5G high-speed internet network using technology from China's Huawei Technologies [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL], the companies said on Thursday. "The COVID pandemic has driven significant lifestyle changes for South Africans, due to work from home or school from home, online shopping and an 'always on' kind of culture," said Fortune Wang, Carrier Business Director for Huawei South Africa. "At launch Telkom will primarily focus on providing super fast 5G fixed wireless access solutions, as the demand for mobile 5G increases, we will supplement this with suitable mobile propositions," said Lunga Siyo, chief executive officer of Telkom Consumer and Business. Shunned in the global north due to security concerns, which Huawei has denied, the Chinese company dominates in Africa as a supplier of equipment to many telecoms operators. Reporting by Nqobile Dludla Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kenya's Safaricom targets more fixed Internet users with 5G network
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pedestrians walk on a sideway outside the Safaricom mobile phone customer care centre in the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya, November 10, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah MwangiOct 27 (Reuters) - Kenya's largest telecoms operator Safaricom (SCOM.NR) launched its 5G high-speed internet service on Thursday, becoming the first firm to deploy the technology commercially in East Africa. The company, whose internet provision business is one of its fastest growing, uses equipment from Nokia (NOKIA.HE) and Huawei (HWT.UL) to power its 5G network. While Safaricom dominates the mobile data market - commanding about a 65% share - it holds only about a third of the fixed data market, data from the Communications Authority of Kenya showed. Customers with compatible phones would however be able to use the network soon, the company said, when it starts selling 5G data packages.

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