Vodacom released a trading statement for their six months to September 2010

Vodacom released a trading statement for their six months to September 2010, yesterday mid-morning. Results are expected 8 November, pencil that into your diaries. First the company refreshes you on what happened this time last year: "Shareholders of Vodacom Group are reminded that headline earnings per share ('HEPS') reported for the six months ended 30 September 2009 of 219 cents per share were impacted by 52 cents per share in respect of losses on the remeasurement of financial instruments and the reversal of a deferred taxation asset. Earnings per share ('EPS') reported for the six months ended 30 September 2009 of 4 cents per share were impacted by 215 cents per share mainly in respect of impairment losses." A whole lot of moving pieces.



Right now, matters have stabilized and you should expect "HEPS and EPS for the six months ended 30 September 2010 are both expected to be between 285 cents per share and 307 cents per share." Nice.



My view is simple on the mobile telecommunication stocks. They are underpriced. Forget interconnect rates and margin compression over the coming years. What is most important is that the data speeds will improve SO much that the range of applications associated with mobile telephony will INCREASE peoples reliance on their handsets. And reduce them on traditional media consumption. Think about how much you do on your handset already. And if you are thinking about getting a tablet, those are data noshers.......At the top end of the range the stock hardly looks expensive on a historic basis, never mind forward. Having said all that, we still prefer MTN.