• Vodacom has published a trading update for the quarter ending 31st December 2024.
• Group revenue was up 9.6 percent when assuming Vodacom Egypt was acquired in 1st April 2022.
• The group, including Safaricom, now boasts a customer base of 200 million for the first time since reaching 100 million in 2018.

On Friday morning, Vodacom Group published a trading update for the quarter which ended on 31st December 2023.

Helped along by the acquisition of Vodacom Egypt, revenue for Vodacom Grop ballooned 26.8 percent to R38.9 billion. When taking Vodacom Egypt’s revenue into account as if it was part of Vodacom Group from 1st April 2022, revenue was up 9.6 percent.

However, Vodacom Group does state that revenue is higher due to increased loadshedding the year before. It seems then that Vodacom has made provisions for losses caused by loadshedding. The firm did sign a virtual wheeling agreement with Eskom in 2023. The group reports that the number of loadshed hours it experienced was 40 percent lower than the same quarter in 2022.

Loadshedding now appears to be something of a benefit for Vodacom which saw data traffic increase during periods of heightened loadshedding. Data traffic grew 31 percent in the quarter.

“Data customers of 27.7 million were up 8.5%, representing 67.6% penetration of our one-month active customer base. Smart devices on our network were up by 8.6% to 32.0 million, while the average usage per smart device increased 21.3% to 3.9GB per month. The number of 4G and 5G devices on our network increased 16.6% to 24.1 million. Prepaid data revenue of R3.3 billion in the quarter was up 10.5%. This growth reflects the success of our data-led propositions focused on providing affordable offers to the most price-sensitive, lower-income customers,” Vodacom told shareholders.

Perhaps the most impressive figure shared by Vodacom was that the group’s customer base, including Safaricom, has grown to 200 million for the first time. Considering the group reached the 100 million customer mark in 2018, the fact that it’s doubled that figure in around five years is very impressive.

It’s here that we should point out that Vodacom Group dabbles in multiple sectors and not solely telecommunications as you may be well aware. In that regard, the group says that revenue from its financial services is the largest component of new services. Revenue from financial services grew 31 percent and now contributed R3.4 billion to Vodacom Group’s revenue. The customer base in this segment grew 12 percent.

All tolled though, revenue from new business amounted to R6.2 billion for the quarter, a signal that there is still room for Vodacom Group to enjoy growth.

Not the worst quarter for Vodacom Group then but also not the best. Let’s see what 2024 holds for the firm.