Vodacom, SA's largest network operator, has paid back about 95% of its free cash flow in dividends to shareholders this year.
The company this morning released its results for the year to March and said service revenue gained 7.8%, to R58.2 billion.
Vodacom made R10.97 billion in free cash flow, a 24.3% gain on the year. It paid out a total of R10.6 billion in dividends during the year after declaring a 260c payout at half year and a 450c dividend at full year.
The final dividend was a 60.7% increase on last year's 460c payout. In the first half of last year, it returned 180c a share to stockholders, which was bolstered to 280c in the second half.
The network operator reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of R22.8 billion, a 10.5% gain on last year. Of this, it reported an operating cash flow of R16.9 billion and then accounted for R771 000 in finance costs and R5.2 billion in tax.
Vodacom's tax rate was higher this year due to the increased dividend payout. It is expected to move lower by about 5% next year as the secondary tax on companies falls away to be replaced by a withholding tax that will be covered by investors receiving dividends.
Vodacom's dividend policy was to pay out at least 70% of headline earnings, a percentage that it has now increased to 90%.
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