JSE-listed Telkom on Monday posted earnings and revenue growth during the third quarter ended December 31, 2025, driven by its data-led strategy.

Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) increased 8.4% to R3.24-billion, with the group Ebitda margin expanding by 1.9 percentage points to 29.1% during the quarter under review.

Telkom attributed the growth to its cost optimisation initiatives.

“The disciplined execution of our data-led strategy delivered quality data revenue growth in the third quarter and year-to-date. This demonstrates our strength as South Africa's digital backbone and our competitive edge of the OneTelkom approach. Our cost optimisation initiatives continued to yield results, as Ebitda margin expanded,” said Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong.

In a trading update to shareholders, the company said that group revenue increased by 1.3% in the third quarter to R11.13-billion, while group data revenue expanded by 9.6% to R6.86-billion.

During the third quarter to December 31, the group’s mobile business recorded a 13.6% growth in Ebitda to R1.99-billion.

Telkom Consumer’s revenue increased 4.5% to R7.48-billion, supported by a 7.2% growth in mobile service revenue to R5.82-billion and a 12.9% surge in mobile data revenue to R4.62-billion, on the back of strong growth in mobile data subscribers and traffic.

Mobile subscribers exceeded 25-million, while mobile data subscribers increased by 29.3% to 19.3-million, now representing 76.5% of total subscribers.

Openserve’s Ebitda edged up 2.1% to R1.09-billion during the third quarter under review, while revenue, supported by continued fibre monetisation, increased 2.2% to R3.17-billion.

Fibre-related data revenue for the group rose by 8.7% to R2.56-billion.

Openserve exceeded 1.5-million homes passed with fibre and the connectivity rate remained strong at 52.4% for the quarter, as homes connected increased to 786 490 during the quarter under review.

Meanwhile, BCX recorded a 37.1% drop in Ebitda to R275-million.

Overall BCX revenue declined 9.3% to R2.64-billion, reflecting continued tough market conditions and revenue strain in Converged Communications, which saw a 17.8% decline in revenue to R1.14-billion. Information technology (IT) service revenue declined 10.5% to R1.12-billion.

Pressure continued in IT services, with constrained enterprise spend, lengthy sales cycles and delays in project implementation.

The hardware and software revenue increased by 19.6%, driven mainly by the timing of project execution and deal closures relative to the prior period.

Cybersecurity services continued to perform resiliently, growing by 18.4%, supported by sustained customer focus on risk and resilience.

Further, cloud performance remained under pressure, reflecting heightened global competition, cost containment by customers that restricts their funding for public cloud journeys and slower-than-expected enterprise migration.

In the Converged Communications business, the revenue decline was owing to the ongoing managed migration to fibre-based platforms, and reduced use and line rental revenue.

Meanwhile, Telkom Group invested R1.3-billion in capital expenditure (capex), at a capex intensity of 11.7%, during the quarter, with a significant portion directed to the growth areas of mobile and fibre.

The mobile business invested R676-million primarily for capacity expansion and to upgrade base stations, resulting in 150 sites being added during the quarter.

“At Openserve, we allocated R557-million to capex to expand and modernise the network, leading to passing 47 596 homes and connecting 30 081 in the third quarter alone,” Telkom commented.

Looking ahead, the company remains committed to delivering on its medium-term guidance objectives.

“Revenue continues to receive focused attention, and we are encouraged by the solid performance of data revenue, which aligns with our data-led strategy and remains a key driver of growth,” said Taukobong.

“Group Ebitda margin was above the upper end of the 25% to 27% guidance. We will sustain the focus on our cost optimisation efforts. Capex intensity is within our 12% to 15% guidance and we will continue to invest largely in mobile and fibre.”

While Telkom’s mobile and Openserve businesses continue to drive service revenue growth, BCX continues its focused management actions to support operational stabilisation and margin discipline as it navigates a managed process of change.

“The business continues to navigate cautious enterprise spending, as clients contain costs, while progressing its planned portfolio and revenue transition. This transition coincides with the retirement of the BCX CEO Jonas Bogoshi, who was instrumental in laying the foundation for the next phase of our strategic review. An incoming leadership will be responsible for accelerating the transformation initiatives that define our path forward.”

Hasnain Motlekar, who has been with the Telkom Group for over 28 years, with experience spanning both commercial and financial roles across the business, will act as BCX CEO effective March 1.