If you invested R10,000 in these South African telecoms companies in 2022, here is how much you would have

South Africans who bought shares in any of the country’s six JSE-listed telecoms companies at the start of 2022 would have seen declines in their investment over the year.

MyBroadband analysed the share price performance of these companies from the opening of trade on Monday, 3 January 2022, to market close on the last day of trading, 27 December 2022, using data from TradingView.

South African telecoms’ share performance in 2022 contrasts the storming year that some of these companies had in 2021, with the biggest loser in 2022 being Telkom, whose share price dropped a whopping 43.9% between 3 January and 27 December 2022.

As a result of Telkom’s share price decline, a R10,000 investment in the network operator’s shares on the first day of trading in 2022 would have only been worth R5,610 at the end of the year.

MTN’s share price surged in 2021, increasing as much as 175.3% between January 2021 and February 2022. However, 2022 tells a different story, with the company’s share performance declining by 25.7%.

South Africans who bought R10,000 of the company’s shares would have seen their investment dwindle to R7,433.

The best-performing South African telecoms company — Blue Label Telecoms — also saw its share price decline over the period. However, its share price drop was less significant than the rest of the field at 4.9%.

Blue Label is Cell C’s largest shareholder.

Those who invested R10,000 in Blue Label Telecoms at the start of the year would have only lost around R487, bringing the value of their investment to R9,513.

Vodacom also performed relatively well compared to the rest, with the company’s share value declining by 8.9% between 3 January and 27 December 2022.

A R10,000 investment in Vodacom shares would have dropped to R9,115.

In the middle of the field sits Huge Group Limited and TeleMasters Holdings Limited, whose share prices declined by 19.3% and 20.0%, respectively.

A R10,000 investment in Huge Group Limited at the start of 2022 would have been worth R8,074 as of 27 December.

Those who invested in TeleMasters Holding Limited would have lost R2,000, bringing the value of their investment to R8,000.

The share price declines for South African telecoms companies last year aren’t surprising.

The global technology industry is among the hardest hit by slow economic growth and high inflation, which weighed heavily on consumers and businesses, leading to more conservative spending.

As a result, many of the world’s biggest technology companies have announced substantial staff cuts in recent weeks, including Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta Platforms (Facebook), and Microsoft.

The table below shows how much a R10,000 investment at the opening of the JSE on 3 January 2022 would have been worth at the close of trading on 27 December 2022.

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