by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE Vodacom Group in the last quarter of the year attained revenue growth of 1,6 percent to R39,5 billion (US$2 billion), impacted by a stronger South African rand.
These results support the projections last November that the telco was poised for a stronger second half performance.
“While currency headwinds continue to impact various markets where we operate, the focused execution of our strategy has resulted in a resilient operational response to the extent that we remain well on track to deliver on our medium-term financial targets,” stated Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group Chief Executive Officer.
South Africa service revenue growth improved to 3,2 percent, supported by prepaid.
Egypt grew service revenue 44,3 percent in local currency, with financial services revenue up 77,7 percent.
International service revenue increased 1,4 percent, impacted by rand strength and pressure in Mozambique.
The Group has celebrated a number of key milestones, including partnering with Orange in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to accelerate rural coverage, launching M-Wekeza in Tanzania to make investments more accessible while introducing a cloud-based handset to reduce the cost of smartphone access in South Africa.
As part of a digital and financial inclusion drive across its footprint, including Safaricom, Vodacom serves over 210 million customers with its sights set on connecting the next 100 million Africans to the digital economy.
Ethiopia, the continent’s second most populous country, is expected to play a significant role in this ambition.
It is making progress with the customer base increasing 63,6 percent to 7,1 million.
– CAJ News