Vodacom Intl Q3 service revenue up 45.2%
Mobile operator Vodacom (VOD) on Wednesday (8 February 2012) reported a 45.2% rise in Q3 service revenue to R2.905 billion for its International operations, mainly driven by strong customer growth and the positive impact from foreign exchange translation.
The group recorded a 12.2% rise in overall group revenue for the quarter ended December 2011, to R17.997 billion.
It also highlighted record net customer additions of 5.0 million in the quarter, with group customers up 27.3% to 52.9 million.
The International operations recorded customer growth of 30.2% to 21.2 million, adding 2.2 million customers in the quarter.
Vodacom’s international operations include those in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Lesotho.
In Tanzania, customer growth of 34.1% was supported by promotional offerings and improved distribution. During the quarter pricing increased in the market after a long period of unsustainably low tariffs. “Our capital investment in Mozambique, smarter pricing and a specific focus on distribution underpinned a 16.9% increase in customers,” the group said.
It added that despite uncertain political conditions during the quarter, the DRC delivered a good performance and also received a boost from the regulated minimum price.
Data revenue in the International operations increased by 135.4%, “as the appetite for data and mobile financial services continues to grow”.
M-Pesa growth accelerated in Tanzania to 2.7 million active customers, representing 23.4% of the base. The M-Pesa system processed transactions in Tanzania worth more than US$400 million during the month of December alone. M-Pesa now accounts for 8.5% of Tanzania’s service revenue, compared to 3.1% a year ago, Vodacom said.
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