JSE-listed Vodacom, SA's largest cellular company, says earnings per share for the first six months of the year benefited from its sale of Gateway Carrier Services at the end of August.
Vodacom says its interim results, for the first six months of the year, should show that basic earnings per share improved by between 30% and 40%. Last year, earnings per share came in at 301c.
The cellular operator says its 2011 results included a R318 million write-down of Gateway, which was sold on 31 August, and profit from the sale had a favourable impact on earnings per share for the first half of the year.
Headline earnings per share should be 20% to 25% higher than the first half of 2011's reported 324c. Both headline and earnings per share benefited from a "strong underlying core operating performance", says Vodacom.
Vodacom says the per-share figures also benefited from the replacement of secondary tax on companies (STC) with dividend withholding tax, which is not included in the income statement tax expense. STC for the six months to September was R417 million.
The group expects to release its results on 12 November.
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