JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African mobile operator Vodacom Group reported a 8.9% rise in annual earnings on Monday, buoyed by an improved second half performance in its domestic market and the sustained growth of its international businesses.

Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the full-year ended March rose to 945 cents from 868 cents a year earlier.

HEPS is the main profit measure in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.

Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone, declared a final dividend of 405 cents per share.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Kim Coghill)

This article was first published on Reuters Africa https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN22N0U0-OZABS and is republished with its permission.