Vodacom Group, including affiliate Safaricom, has topped 200 million customers for the first time – doubling from 100 million in 2018.
The JSE-listed telecommunications group revealed the figure in its fiscal third quarter update – for the three months ended 31 December 2023 – published on Friday.
Of the 200 million customers, 75 million – or 37.5% — use financial services, chiefly M-Pesa, which remains the dominant form of payment in Kenya. Egypt also grew its financial services customers by an impressive 55.5%, reaching 7.5 million people.
Vodacom’s total subscriber count is still well behind main rival MTN Group, which at the end of September 2023 boasted more than 290 million subscribers on its books.
“We remain Africa’s largest mobile money platform by transaction value processed, with a value of close to US$100-billion in the quarter,” Vodacom said. “Our super-app roll-out across the footprint remains a major focus for the group. In South Africa, VodaPay reached 4.8 million registered users, with our summer campaign driving strong user engagement on the platform.”
Vodacom’s subscriber growth has been fuelled by corporate deals, including the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt from its UK-headquartered parent, Vodafone Group.
Group revenue
That deal helped propel group revenue higher by almost 27% to R38.9-billion in the December quarter, Vodacom said on Friday.
Group service revenue growth, including the contribution from Vodafone Egypt, rose by 8.8% on a pro forma basis, which was at the top end of the group’s medium-term target.
South Africa was, however, a laggard in the latest reporting period, growing service revenue by just 1.9%. Vodacom blamed a strong comparative period a year ago for the relatively slow growth.
Read: Vodacom key player in new R28-billion Vodafone, Microsoft deal
Vodacom’s share price, which has been under intense pressure in the past year, rose by nearly 2% on Friday’s financial update. The shares were changing hands at R97.21 apiece shortly after 9.30am in Johannesburg. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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