Telkom's top executives have shown their confidence in the company's future by buying up thousands of shares.
Group CEO Reuben September and CFO Peter Nelson yesterday each spent close to three-quarters of a million rand buying up shares in the embattled telecommunications company.
The purchase came two days after Telkom released its mid-year results, which were “disappointing”.
Telkom was reporting for the first time since unbundling Vodacom. Its operating revenue was R18.7 billion, compared to a year ago, when its financials included Vodacom and several other assets that have since been sold, such as Telkom Media. Revenue a year ago was R29.9 billion.
Headline earnings per share from continuing operations for the six months to September took a knock, decreasing 37.9%, to 242.2c, off the back of higher operating expenditure, which included the higher-than-expected salary settlement earlier this year.
September and Nelson both bought 19 255 shares at R38.85, for a sum of R748 045 each. A Telkom spokesperson says the purchase was with their private money, and was a vote of confidence in the company.
He adds that the fact that both executives bought the exact same amount of shares for the same price, at the same time, was “coincidence”. He explains that the directors could not buy the shares before Telkom released its results as it was in a closed period.
This morning, the company's shares were trading at R38.75, a 0.26% decrease on its opening price of R38.75.
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