Vodacom Group, Africa\u2019s largest wireless carrier, declared a full-year dividend that missed estimates as start-up losses and currency pressures in its newest territories trimmed headline earnings.<\/p>\n
The dividend for the year ended March 31 is R5.90 per share, down from R6.70 the previous year, Vodacom said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n
The payout compares with an average estimate of R6.35 by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.<\/p>\n
While the group increased revenue by 26% to R150.6 billion, net income declined 2.8% to R16.3 billion.<\/p>\n
A combination of start-up losses in Ethiopia, higher finance and energy costs and weaker exchange rates across markets including Egypt contributed to a 10.8% decline in headline earnings, chief executive officer Shameel Joosub said.<\/p>\n
Still, the group expects efforts to diversify its footprint and product mix will unlock strong returns over the medium term, he said.<\/p>\n
Vodacom remains committed to spending 13% to 14.5% of overall revenue on capital expenditure, Joosub said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also seek to expand our partnerships across Africa to power Vodacom\u2019s growth, drive infrastructure sharing to increase rural and fiber connectivity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Africa is home to the worlds fastest-growing population and carriers are seeing young, and increasingly tech savvy, users engage more with their smartphones and spend more time on the internet.<\/p>\n
Last year, the company started using a new dividend policy at least 75% of headline earnings \u2014 down from 90% \u2014 as it seeks to preserve funds to invest in Egypt and Ethiopia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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