Both Telkom and MTN will next week announce that they made bucketloads of money in the past financial year. Neither will be able to entirely convince shareholders that the good times will continue indefinitely.
Telkom plans to present its results on Monday. In a mandatory preview it said its basic headline earnings per share would increase by between 35% and 55% compared with those in its previous financial year. Profits may not increase by quite as much but net profit should easily break R5-billion.
MTN will present its results on Thursday. Its basic headline earnings a share will be up by 40% to 50%. With its net profit breaking R4-billion, the company would have made an average profit of about R130 a second for the year.
Each company will be upbeat about its prospects. Unless something drastic happens to the economy, the need for communication, and the ability to pay for it, will continue to grow.
But both companies will have to explain what they intend doing about a number of looming issues.
If Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri is to be believed, the second national operator (SNO) will finally be licensed in coming months. Everyone, including Telkom, expects about a third of large businesses to switch from Telkom to the SNO over three to five years. Given historic dissatisfaction with Telkom, home users will also jump ship given the chance.
Telkom also faces ever-tightening regulations seeking to protect customers from its dominance and the departure of CEO Sizwe Nxasana; his contract ends at the end of December.
MTN faces competition from Vodacom (half-owned by Telkom) in its highly profitable Nigerian venture. Vodacom is still determined to buy one of the major cellular operators in Nigeria and a progress report on that deal is also due on Monday.
At home MTN has seen Vodacom take control of the data market, where both companies expect to make much of their future products.