This week, we saw earnings updates from Vodacom and MTN. Let's start with the former, where the interim dividend is down 6.6%.

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Listen to this article 4 min Listen to this article 4 min Revenue at Vodacom increased just 1% for the period and heps (headline earnings per share) fell 19.4%, so shareholders should probably be thankful for the increased payout ratio. Of course, such changes to the payout ratio aren't sustainable and eventually the dividend will move in the same direction as Heps. The company is just putting perfume on a pig here, especially in light of negative free cashflow for the period.

It's little wonder that Vodacom has been trying to get a fibre deal across the line in South Africa, since this is one of the few growth opportunities. Alas, the Competition Tribunal had other ideas, blocking the deal with Remgro.

The situation is no better at MTN, where the currency depreciation and related impacts in Africa have been so severe that Nigeria is now operating at a lower earnings before Ebitda margin than South Africa.

The growth driver at MTN (and other South African telecommunications groups) is fintech revenue, as the distribution opportunities are substantial around services such as payments and insurance.

It was the only source of revenue in the green, up 8.5% as reported and 28.9%...