South Africa mobile operator Vodacom said that the company's headline earnings a share for the financial year ended March should be up by 25-30 percent compared with the previous year's results. In the prior financial year, Vodacom reported HEPS of 510 cents per share, but Vodacom reminded shareholders that the company recognised impairment losses of some ZAR 3.4 billion during that period. Vodacom expected to recognise impairment losses of about ZAR 1.5 billion for the year ended March, in relation to its unit Gateway, as a result of increased price competition and poorer trading trends. Earnings per share for the year ended March are expected to be 95-105 percent higher than the prior year's reported EPS of 282 cents a share. Vodacom will release its full results on 16 May.
