Mobile ops push Telkom

Telkom South Africa has reported a 4.9% increase in net profit to ZAR4.5 billion (USD621.3 million) for the six months to the end of September. Operating revenue was up 7.3% to ZAR25.2 billion. The growth was attributed to a strong performance at Telkom’s 50%-owned mobile subsidiary Vodacom, plus its fixed line unit’s focus on more lucrative broadband internet services. Vodacom had 20.2 million subscribers and a 59% share of the South African mobile market at the end of September. Its cellular operations elsewhere in Africa had a combined base of 5.6 million customers, up 65.8% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the fixed line division now has more than 190,000 ADSL customers.