Vodacom Group on Wednesday posted a nearly 13% rise in third‑quarter service revenue, driven by solid growth across its African operations, particularly in Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Vodacom, majority owned by Britain’s Vodafone Group, said group service revenue rose to R34.6-billion in the three-month period ended 31 December, compared with a year-ago period.
On a normalised basis, group service revenue jumped 13.6%, “tracking favourably against our medium-term target”, Vodacom said.
“The quarter benefited from sustained growth in Egypt and our international business, including a strong performance in the DRC, while South Africa delivered modest but satisfactory revenue growth against a particularly strong comparative quarter last year,” Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said in a statement.
The financial services segment remained a key growth engine, accounting for a 24.7% jump in service revenue to R4.5-billion, Joosub said, adding that the company’s mobile money platforms, including Kenya’s Safaricom, processed US$500.7-billion in transaction value over the last 12 months.
Including Safaricom, Vodacom surpassed 100 million financial services customers during the quarter.
Prepaid pressure
Despite a tough consumer environment in South Africa, service revenue in the market inched 1.4% higher to R16.4-billion, supported by a 2.6% rise in contract revenue.
Prepaid revenue, however, remained under pressure due to the strained consumer backdrop and promotional pricing, Joosub said.
Read: Mobile operators face tougher rules on data and billing
Service revenue in Vodacom’s international operations grew 12.6%, led by a 39% surge in Egypt, which now contributes 27.5% of group service revenue for the quarter. — (c) 2026 Reuters
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