South Africa's Telkom SA H1 earnings drop 67 pct as restructuring bites

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Telkom SA, South Africa's biggest landline provider, posted an expected 67 percent drop in first-half earnings on Monday, hit in part by restructuring costs after it had to let go hundreds of workers. Telkom reported diluted headline earnings of 212.1 cents a share for the six months to Sept. 30, from a restated 649.8 cents a year earlier. Headline EPS, the main measure of profit in South Africa, excludes certain one-off items. The company said it laid off more than 400 managers whose voluntary retrenchment and severance packages cost 325 million rand ($29 million). Last year's results were also inflated by a one-time gain related to medical aid benefits for retired employees. Telkom said total revenue declined slightly to 16.2 billion rand as fixed-line usage shrank by 12 percent. However, mobile revenue increased by 5 percent. "Operating revenue decreased due to the continuous decline in fixed-line voice revenue and lower data leased line revenue resulting from self-provisioning by other licensed operators," Telkom said in a statement. Telkom shares have more than double so far this year, augmenting a rise of nearly 70 percent in 2013. (1 US dollar = 11.0700 South African rand)