By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Telecommunications group Telkom rejected an offer of R46 a share for a controlling stake in South Africa’s third-largest mobile network by a consortium led by former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko.
Business Times, reports Maseko’s Afrifund Investments and Madagascar-based Axian Telecom submitted their bid in March, which also requires government to dilute part of its 40.5% state in Telkom.
Sources told the paper that discussions are still underway and that a revised offer, which is not materially different from the original, has been offered.
In July 2022, MTN offered R60 per share, and valued Telkom at R30 billion.
Telkom previously warned that it is expecting a huge loss in its headline earnings for the full year ending 31 March.
In May, the group said that it expects its headline earnings per share (HEPS) to drop by between 85% to 105% from the prior period,
This would result in a HEPS decreasing between 489 to 604 cents per share, meaning a final number loss of 29 cents per share to earnings of 86 cents per share (2022: 576 cps).
Telkom said that the blow comes amidst marginal revenue growth emanating from migrating legacy to new generation technologies, intentional upfront investment in working capital for handsets and equipment, the costs of load shedding, and inflationary cost pressures.
The group added that costs associated with its retrenchment process – which will impact 15% of its staff – and impairment costs have impacted its balance sheet.
Telkom said that it will publish its annual results ended 31 March on approximately 13 June 2023.