Telkom's full-year profit plunges 76.6%

Customers are served at a branch of Telkom, in Johannesburg on 2 March 2022. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

The largely state-owned telecommunications company said its headline earnings per share - the main profit measure in South Africa - fell to 134.6c from 575.3c in the 12 months ended 31 March.

Its headline earnings per share "excludes the impact of the restructuring cost of (R1,065m) and the tax impact of (R288m) on profit after tax," the company said in a statement.

Like other South African telcos, the company has had to endure the country's worst rolling blackouts on record leaving businesses and households in the dark for up to 10 hours daily.

Telecoms have the added pressure of keeping phone networks running during blackouts.

"Telkom has come through a year marred by unparalleled levels of load shedding and an alarming number of incidents of theft and vandalism targeting network infrastructure," the company said in a statement referring to the power cuts.