Vodacom shows strong service revenue growth

Vodacom reported its first set of financial results since its Vodafone Egypt deal and delivered strong revenue and service revenue growth.

Vodacom finalised the R43.5 billion Vodafone Egypt deal in December last year. It forms part of its African footprint expansion, which included a 35% acquisition of Safaricom in 2017.

Vodafone Egypt has 45 million customers and reported a 23.4% increase in service revenue from the second quarter, underpinned by demand from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The mobile operator reported a 16.1% increase in group service revenue as R1.8 billion was consolidated into its statements with the Vodafone Egypt deal.

Excluding the Egypt service revenue, Vodacom achieved a 7.32% increase in group service revenue – a strong result compared to the 5.28% increase seen in December 2021.

Vodacom still generates the bulk of its service revenue in South Africa but has seen a significant change in its revenue mix since 2017, increasing its expansion into Africa.

Vodacom reported a 3% increase in service revenue in South Africa and a 4.5% increase in its international segment.

It reported an impressive increase in its financial services segment, marking its highest growth initiative.

Normalised revenue grew by 16.5%, underpinned by its insurance business’ strong performance.

The Vodacom super app VodaPay reached 4.5 million downloads with 2.7 million registered users and 100 mini-apps integrated into the platform.

Vodacom currently has a population reach of 500 million people and aims to grow into a leading pan-African mobile operator and financial services provider.