We watched the MTN results presentation from the comfort of our own seats here, no free lunches applied here and we could still continue as normal. I am sorry to harp on this point, but why would you go to these presentations other than to feel like you are getting something done, and to try and ask the smartest question. And by my count there were less than ten questions. Come on guys, smash your old ways and get with the program. Download the presentation at work. Watch the show on TV. Ask the investor relations person a question via email.
My own bias aside for what you should and shouldn't be doing, the MTN share price popped nearly five percent in yesterdays trade. The raised dividend that takes MTN much higher on the list of attraction for pension funds, in fact anyone who needs a higher income. The yield is now 3.8 percent, historical. Forward to this full years numbers, with that 55 percent payout, the stock yields 4.7 percent. And two years out with the assumption of 13 ZAR worth of earnings (which translates to a dividend of around 715 ZA cents) that puts the company on a yield of just shy of 5.5 percent. And that is the attraction, a much improved dividend payout ratio coupled with earnings that are still growing strongly.