Telkom Reports Strong First-Half Performance as Data-Led Strategy Drives Growth
The Group delivered quality earnings supported by increased data revenue, disciplined cost management and continued expansion of its mobile and fibre businesses.
Telkom SA SOC Limited has released its financial results for the six months ended 30 September 2025 (H1 FY2026), reporting solid growth across key performance indicators and reaffirming the strength of its data-led strategy. The Group delivered quality earnings supported by increased data revenue, disciplined cost management and continued expansion of its mobile and fibre businesses.
Group revenue rose 3.4% to R22.104 billion, while data revenue climbed 7.9% to R13.072 billion, accounting for 59.1% of total revenue. EBITDA increased 7.4% to R6.023 billion, with the EBITDA margin improving by 1.0 percentage point to 27.2%, slightly above Telkom’s medium-term guidance range.
The Group highlighted double-digit data growth across its mobile and fibre segments. Mobile data revenue grew 10.3%, fibre-related data revenue rose 12.3%, and BCX’s fibre-related data revenue increased 13.8%. Mobile data subscribers surged 26.7% to 18.5 million, representing more than three-quarters of Telkom’s total mobile customer base.
“These results demonstrate that we are well positioned to deliver on the commitments of our medium-term objectives. Additionally, the results reflect the determination and commitment of all our employees, who are relentlessly focused on executing our data-led strategy.”
– Serame Taukobong, CEO, Telkom SA SOC Limited
Openserve, South Africa’s largest open-access network, delivered revenue growth of 2.7%, driven by enterprise, carrier and broadband segments. Fibre-related revenue grew 10.1%, with homes passed reaching 1.5 million and fibre connectivity rates improving to 52%.
Telkom Consumer reported operating revenue of R14.25 billion, up 6.4%, supported by advanced analytics, product optimisation and an expanded distribution footprint. Mobile service revenue rose 7.9%, and ARPU increased 4.1%, contributing to continued market-leading growth.
BCX saw its EBITDA margin improve from 6.5% in Q1 to 9.9% in the half-year period, reflecting successful cost transformation and portfolio optimisation. While overall revenue declined 4.4%, annuity revenue remained stable and key digital services, including cybersecurity, posted double-digit growth.
Taukobong said Telkom’s financial position remains healthy, with net debt to EBITDA stable at 0.7x after settling R4.834 billion in debt. Headline earnings per share increased 16.4% to 305.6 cents, supported by improved operating profit and reduced finance charges.
“Looking to the remainder of the financial year, we are encouraged by the performance we achieved in the first half. Delivering quality earnings and growth through focusing on our targets and medium-term guidance remains our top priority. Our data-led strategy will continue to act as a catalyst for growth, as we strengthen our unique position as the backbone of South Africa’s digital future, and as we continue sharpening our competitive edge through the OneTelkom approach. The country’s economic growth is expected to be subdued in 2025. Intensifying competition in both mobile and fibre, coupled with muted corporate ICT spending underscore the importance of maintaining our operational discipline and strategic focus. In the second half, revenue will remain a key area of focus across the Group and we will continue with our sustainable cost-optimisation efforts. We will continue to leverage the unique advantage of our extensive fibre footprint to drive growth through our strong mobile offerings in service and data. We expect to maintain service revenue growth at mid-single digits for the mobile business, and EBITDA margin will moderate slightly due to the seasonality of investing in the summer campaign and the festive season. Openserve will continue to drive revenue growth in fibre to the home as well as in the key growth areas of the enterprise segment and carrier services. BCX will carry on with disciplined execution of its strategic actions and will focus on growing margin-accretive revenue. We will continue to act decisively in honing high performance by making the most of our strengths as a well-established infraco.”
– Serame Taukobong, CEO, Telkom SA SOC Limited
