Vodacom Group records increased profits, revenue

The Vodacom Group revenue has increased by 14 per cent to 26 billion South African Rand while profit from operations increased by 12.5 per cent to 6.4 billion Rand for the six months ended 30 September.

Vodacom has seen a number of significant changes over the past few months; as it evolves, we’ve increased the non-voice share of our business and increased the portion of our business coming from high growth markets outside South Africa, said Pieter Uys, Vodacom CEO.

With the intended acquisitions of Gateway Communications and StorTech the company has opened up further opportunities in servicing the total communications needs of corporate clients, added Uys. Vodacom has gained footholds in important new markets across Africa.

The results show that total number of Vodacom customers increased 13.1 per cent to 35.7 million and. The group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 13.9 per cent to 8.7 billion rand while the net profit after tax grew by 3.2 per cent to 3.8 billion rand and cash generated from operations increased by 15.6 per cent to 8 billion rand

The data segment continued to grow rapidly, with revenues up 43.3 per cent, accounting for 13.1 per cent of Vodacom’s service revenue.
During the period, Vodacom completed the 7.5 billion rand Black Economic Empowerment transaction known as Yebo Yethu public offer, which was three times oversubscribed.

“Vodacom is committed to meaningful transformation in South Africa and we were delighted to conclude this major transaction,” said Uys. “We were particularly successful in promoting broad-based ownership, gaining more than 100,000 new
shareholders - almost 60% of which had applied for the minimum number of shares.

Vodacom, which is the e market leader in South Africa, is committed to further investment in sub-Saharan Africa though South Africa will remain the hub.

Ends