If you invested R1,000 in Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom at the start of 2024, here is how much you would have

People who bought shares in Cell C’s majority shareholder, Blue Label, at the start of 2024 would have seen the value of their investments increase substantially more than those who bought shares in Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom.

That is according to MyBroadband’s analysis of the share price performance of South Africa’s four biggest JSE-listed telecoms in the first nine months of the year.

From when markets opened on Tuesday, 2 January 2024 to market close on Thursday, 26 September, Blue Label’s share price had increased from R3.88 to R5.13.

That 32.2% improvement means R1,000 in Blue Label shares bought at the start of the year would be worth about R1,322 roughly nine months later.

Blue Label’s share price has been climbing gradually throughout the year, peaking at roughly R5.46 in mid-August 2024.

That highlight came after the company forecast a 73% to 77% increase in annual headline earnings.

Blue Label published its annual results near the end of that month, revealing a substantial decline in revenue but a big improvement in profit.

However, after accounting for the impact of Cell C’s costly recapitalisation, net profit after tax declined 34%.

Nevertheless, in 2024, the market appears to have been persuaded that Blue Label’s turnaround strategy for Cell C is working.

Cell C has also expressed its ambition to take back the position of third-biggest mobile operator from Telkom, using its roaming agreements with Vodacom and MTN to offer customers the best of both networks.

However, it should be noted that Blue Label is a small-cap share, so its price is more easily impacted by lower trade volumes than Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom.

The telecoms share with the second best return in the year to date is Vodacom. The company’s share price has climbed by roughly 4.2% since 2 January 2024.

Vodacom’s share price has been on a rebound in the past few months after struggling for most of the first half of the year.

The latest gains come despite a fairly flat performance in revenue and profit growth during the first quarter of its 2024/2025 financial year, which it published in late July 2024.

One reason for the improvement could be overall market positivity about South Africa’s economy and the lowering of inflation in recent months, which could boost consumer spending.

As the country’s dominant mobile player, Vodacom’s performance is often deeply intertwined with the country’s economic prosperity.

While investors in Vodacom would only have seen the value of a R1,000 shareholding increase by R42, they are in a better position than those who bought shares in Telkom and MTN at the start of the year.

Telkom’s share price has decreased by 9%, while MTN’s has slumped 17.5%.

While Telkom’s share price briefly jumped after it reported an increase in revenue for its 2023/2024 financial results during June 2024, the company has continued to bleed fixed-access customers.

While it continued to increase its mobile subscriber base, the average revenue per user declined slightly, showing the potential for revenue in this segment to grow as exponentially as in previous years is dwindling.

The company has cut down its capital expenditure on mobile network infrastructure significantly compared to previous years.

MTN’s revenue and profit have been hit hard by the weakening of the Naira in Nigeria, the company’s biggest market.

The table and charts below summarise the changes in the share price of South Africa’s four big JSE-listed telecoms companies.

Telecoms company	Price on 2 January 2024	Price on 26 September 2024	Change	New value ofR1,000 investment
Blue Label (Cell C majority shareholder)	R3.88	R5.13	+32.2%	R1,322
Vodacom	R108.90	R113.43	+4.2%	R1,042
Telkom	R28.90	R26.31	-9.0%	R910
MTN	R115.32	R95.12	-17.5%	R825

Blue Label

Vodacom

Telkom

MTN