Vodacom shooting the lights out despite Makate Please Call Me hit

Vodacom has reported strong interim results for the first half of its 2026 financial year, with earnings up over 30%.

Vodacom is South Africa’s largest telecommunications operator, with a customer base of 223.2 million and ambitions to grow this figure to 260 million over the next five years.

On Monday, 10 November, Vodacom released its results for the six months ended 30 September 2025, which revealed a strong performance.

The telecoms giant grew its revenue by 10.94% to R81.59 billion, while its operating profit grew by 25.48% to R20.24 billion compared to the first half of its 2025 financial year.

The company’s basic earnings and headline earnings per share shot up over 30% to 472 cents and 467 cents, respectively.

Vodacom initially projected higher earnings growth in an earlier trading update, but lowered its earnings expectations in an updated trading statement following its settlement with Kenneth Nkosana Makate in the Please Call Me matter.

The group did not specify the settlement amount in these interim results. However, analysts have estimated the amount to be between R353 million and R748 million, based on Vodacom’s earnings adjustment.

Vodacom made a net profit of R12.17 billion, up 54.78% compared to the prior period. This is the group’s biggest profit jump in over a decade.

The company said these strong results set Vodacom up well for its Vision 2030 ambitions, which include growing its customer base to over 260 million and its financial services clients to 120 million by the 2030 financial year.

Currently, Vodacom’s customer base stands at 223.2 million, and the company now serves 93.7 million financial services customers.

The company attributed its strong financial performance to double-digit service revenue growth of 13.6% and financial services expansion.

Vodacom’s Vision 2023 strategy focuses heavily on these segments, with the company aiming to grow its beyond mobile divisions to constitute 30% of group service revenue. 

These divisions, which include financial and digital services, fixed and Internet of Things, contributed 21.8% of group service revenue in these interim results.

The group also invested heavily in its operations over the six-month period, with its investments into technology and networks amounting to R9.4 billion.

The company plans to spend R23 billion across its markets in the current financial year. Including Safaricom, Vodacom has added 1,881 4G and 3,524 5G sites in the year to date.

Vodacom explained that its strong headline earnings growth allowed the board to declare an interim dividend of 330 cents per share, up 15.8% from the prior year.