While international markets helped propel Vodacom Group’s interim results to 30 September 2025 higher, its South African operation has turned in a decidedly more mixed performance.
Vodacom South Africa posted modest service revenue growth of 2.2% to R31.7-billion in the six months to September 2025, as pressure in the prepaid segment offset gains in contract and non-mobile services.
The operator’s “beyond-mobile” portfolio – comprising financial and digital services, fixed connectivity and internet-of-things solutions – rose by 5.6% to R5.8-billion, accounting for 18.3% of total service revenue. The second quarter proved tougher than the first: service revenue growth slowed to 1.4%, from 3% in the first quarter, amid weaker prepaid performance.
Ebitda – a measure of operating profit and a figure closely watched by investors in the telecommunications sector – declined by 5.3%, which Vodacom attributed to both softer revenue and a once-off cost item during the period (possibly the settlement paid to Nkosana Makate for the “please call me” service).
The mobile contract segment remained the main earnings anchor, with revenue up 3.7% to R12.5-billion, helped by a March 2025 price adjustment. Second-quarter contract growth slowed to 2.1% following accounting deferrals, while average revenue per user (Arpu) rose 2.6% to R314. The operator added 21 000 contract customers, taking the base to 6.9 million.
Prepaid pressure
The prepaid business, however, contracted. Revenue slipped 1.6% to R13.2-billion, as consumers grappled with tight wallets and fiercer competition. Prepaid revenue fell 2.9% in the second quarter after a marginal 0.4% decline in Q1. Vodacom’s prepaid base shrank 7.4% to 39.2 million following a clean-up of inactive users in earlier quarters. Encouragingly, the remaining active base showed stronger usage, with prepaid Arpu up 3.6% to R57 in the second quarter.
Data traffic surged 31.1%, fuelled by wider smartphone uptake, new prepaid LTE offers and sustained network investment. Smart devices on the network climbed by 7.8% to 34.3 million, with 4G and 5G devices up by 11.1% to 26.3 million. Average usage per smart device rose by 24.6% to 5.9GB/month. Prepaid data revenue advanced 5.8% to R7.2-billion.
Read: Vodacom is pumping after a powerhouse half year
Vodacom South Africa’s fixed-services revenue grew by 9.1%, while financial services revenue increased by 6.3% to R1.8-billion, led by insurance, payments and lending products. Vodacom Business posted a 5.1% service-revenue rise to R8.7-billion, buoyed by 27.1% growth in cloud, hosting and security.
The company invested R4.1-billion locally during the half to strengthen network resilience, deploy new spectrum and modernise IT platforms. Full-year capital expenditure is expected between R11.5-billion and R12-billion. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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