South Africa’s mobile operator, Vodacom, recorded an 8.9% jump in its full-year earnings, a spike brought about by an improved second-half performance in its domestic market and the sustained growth of its international business.

According to its financial statements for the period ended 31st March 2020, the group’s revenue rose by 4.8% to $4.97 billion, with group service revenue rising by 5%.

Additionally, an increase in data usage and a 21.5% increase in financial service revenue led to a 2.3% increase in service revenue in South Africa.

Earlier this year, South Africa implemented sharp data price reductions, leading to a steady rise in data traffic with 1.9 million more data customers connecting to the Vodacom network.

Furthermore, the primary profit measure in South Africa, Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS), rose to 945 cents, from 868 cents last year.

Vodacom’s investment in Safaricom also saw a 30.4% boost in profits, with growth brought about by currency factors in addition to the new M-Pesa joint venture. An additional 4 million customers and increased demand for data and financial services under M-Pesa in each of its operations contributed to a 12.5% increase in service revenue across its international operations.

The past year has been characterized by strong customer growth – we now connect 116 million customers across the group, including Safaricom – and the benefits of prudent portfolio diversification.

Group Chief Executive Officer, Shameel Joosub

The group declared a final dividend of 405 cents per share.

Vodacom Group Limited is a South African mobile communications company providing voice, messaging, data, and converged services to over 55 million customers. From its roots in South Africa, it has grown its operations to include networks in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, and Lesotho.

It also provides business services to customers in other African countries, among them Nigeria, Zambia, Angola, Kenya, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon.

Just recently, the company launched 5G technology in three cities in South Africa; Pretoria, Cape Town, and Johannesburg. The spectrum is Africa’s first live 5G network, which supports both mobile and fixed wireless services and is currently available on 20 live 5G sites.