South Africa’s largest mobile services provider Vodacom today announced it expects its headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended September 2012 to be between 20 and 25 percent higher than the corresponding period last year, which was at R3.24 per share.
The company’s interim results for the six months ended September 30, 2012 are expected to be released on November 12, 2012.
Vodacom said that it expected its earnings per share (EPS) to be significantly higher, saying: “Basic earnings per share (“EPS”) for the six months ended 30 September 2012 is expected to be between 30 percent and 40 percent higher than the prior year reported EPS of 301 cents per share.”
Both increases are credited to the company’s sale of its Gateways Carrier Services business in August this year. Vodacom had bought Gateway in December 2008 for more than US$700m as part of its plan to expand across Africa.
According to reports, both EPS and HEPS were positively affected by strong underlying core operating performance and the replacement of secondary tax on companies (“STC”) with dividend withholding tax, which is not included in the income statement tax expense.
