/ 19 July 2012

Vodacom’s revenue grows, reaches 50m customers

Vodacom has reported a 9.3% rise in first-quarter revenue
Vodacom has reported a 9.3% rise in first-quarter revenue

Vodacom said on Thursday revenue totalled just over R17-billion in the quarter to end-June buoyed by growth in data and customers.

Vodacom, which has operations in South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Lesotho, said its customer numbers totalled 50-million at the end of June, compared with 47.8-million at the end of March.

"I am particularly pleased with the sustained high growth delivered by the international operations. Data demand in this segment is accelerating, with active data customers increasing 152% and data revenue up 150%," chief executive Pieter Uys said.

Group data revenue was up almost 17%.

Although Vodacom has the largest subscriber base in South Africa, it is dwarfed on the continent by MTN Group.

Vodacom and its rivals are fighting to extract more revenue from data as the market for mobile voice usage stagnates.

The company said this month that Uys would step down in March, to be replaced by Shameel Joosub, a Vodacom veteran who is currently head of Vodafone's Spanish unit.

Vodacom shares are up 2% this year, compared with a 4% rise in the benchmark Top-40 index. – Reuters