Vodacom advances on strong trading update

Vodacom Group expects earnings per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2026 to rise by between 20% and 25%, the JSE-listed mobile operator said in a trading statement after markets closed on Monday.

Shares in the group climbed 5.4% in early trade on Tuesday to R149.25 by 9.10am, as investors digested the guidance.

The company said earnings per share are expected to land in a range of between R10.31 and R10.74 for the year, up from R8.59 in the previous year. Headline earnings per share are expected to rise by a similar amount, to between R10.28 and R10.71, from R8.57 before.

Vodacom said the result would be “consistent with Vodacom’s Vision 2030 double-digit Ebitda growth ambition”, a target central to the group’s strategy under CEO Shameel Joosub

The strong guidance comes after a year of significant strategic activity for the group. In February, Vodacom-controlled Vodafone Egypt secured additional mobile spectrum as part of a multi-year programme by the Egyptian government. Egypt has become a critical growth engine for the group since Vodacom acquired its 55% stake from parent Vodafone in December 2022.

Prepaid pressure

Closer to home, South African competition authorities last year cleared Vodacom’s acquisition of a 30% stake in Maziv, the parent of Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa. The transaction positioned Vodacom across national backhaul, metro rings, last-mile fibre and mobile access.

However, the South African mobile telecommunications business has been the group’s softer spot. At the half-year stage in November, Vodacom South Africa posted service revenue growth of just 2.2% as prepaid pressure offset gains in contract and non-mobile services, with Telkom outpacing both Vodacom and MTN in the home market.

Joosub told TechCentral at the time that competitive pricing from MTN and growing pressure from mobile virtual network operators had forced the group to revisit its prepaid pricing.

Investors will be watching the 2026 full-year results for an updated read on South African service revenue, financial services momentum, group Ebitda margin and any signal on the dividend.

The results are scheduled for publication on 11 May 2026.  — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media