Vodacom reported a 10.9 percent increase in revenue to R81.585 billion for the first six months of the financial year 2025, driven by strong growth in service and digital businesses. Service revenue rose 12.2 percent to R65.8 billion, supported by higher data usage, expansion in financial services, and solid performance across markets.
Vodacom’s “Beyond Mobile” segment – covering financial and digital services, fixed connectivity, and IoT – contributed 21.8 percent of Group service revenue, moving closer to Vodacom’s Vision 2030 target of exceeding 30 percent.
Capital expenditure of Vodacom increased 6.9 percent to R9.416 billion as Vodacom continued to invest in network expansion and digital capabilities. The operator added 1,881 4G and 3,524 5G sites across the Group, with Egypt leading 5G deployment following its service launch in June 2025.
Vodacom’s financial services customer base grew 13.1 percent to 93.7 million, including Safaricom, driven by innovative products in insurance, savings, loans, and wealth management. The Group aims to grow its total customer base to over 260 million and financial services users to 120 million by FY2030.
Vodacom said its Vision 2030 strategy focuses on digital and financial inclusion, superior customer experience, and sustained network investment. The company plans to spend R23 billion across its markets in the current financial year.
South Africa
Vodacom South Africa reported a 2.2 percent increase in service revenue to R31.7 billion, supported by growth in contract and beyond mobile services. The “Beyond Mobile” segment rose 5.6 percent to R5.8 billion, contributing 18.3 percent of total service revenue.
Mobile contract customer revenue increased 3.7 percent to R12.5 billion, supported by a price adjustment in March 2025. Contract ARPU rose 2.6 percent to R314, with the customer base growing slightly to 6.9 million.
Prepaid mobile revenue fell 1.6 percent to R13.2 billion, affected by reduced consumer spending and competition. The prepaid base declined 7.4 percent to 39.2 million after customer clean-up, though a rebound in the second quarter added 0.3 million users and improved ARPU by 3.6 percent to R57.
Data traffic grew 31.1 percent, driven by stronger smartphone adoption, prepaid LTE offers, and network investments. Smart devices increased 7.8 percent to 34.3 million, with 4G and 5G devices up 11.1 percent to 26.3 million. Average usage rose 24.6 percent to 5.9 GB per month, while prepaid data revenue grew 5.8 percent to R7.2 billion.
Fixed service revenue increased 9.1 percent, supported by home and business broadband growth, reaching 210,000 connections. Financial services revenue rose 6.3 percent to R1.8 billion, driven by insurance, payments, and lending products. Vodacom Business posted a 5.1 percent rise in service revenue to R8.7 billion, led by a 27.1 percent surge in cloud, hosting, and security services.
Vodacom invested R4.1 billion in network upgrades to enhance resilience, spectrum utilization, and IT platforms, with plans to invest between R11.5 billion and R12 billion in capital expenditure for the financial year.
Egypt
Vodacom Egypt delivered service revenue of R17.6 billion (up 42.3 percent), contributing 26.8 percent to the Group’s total, supported by strong commercial performance and growing adoption of digital services.
Egypt’s customer base grew 6.5 percent to 53.1 million, driven by strong customer satisfaction and leadership in Net Promoter Score (NPS). ARPU increased 36.2 percent, reflecting effective use of Big Data analytics and targeted offers. Data traffic rose 21.9 percent, supported by 7.7 percent growth in data customers to 33.2 million and higher smartphone penetration, which reached 80 percent.
Vodafone Cash continued to strengthen its position, with financial services revenue reaching R1.4 billion (EGP 3.8 billion), or 7.9 percent of service revenue. Vodafone Cash revenue surged 48.3 percent as the customer base expanded 32.5 percent to 12.7 million. Egypt also achieved solid growth in fixed broadband and IoT services.
Vodacom Egypt invested R2.7 billion in capital expenditure, representing a 13.7 percent capital intensity ratio. The company launched 5G services in June 2025, leveraging previously deployed 5G-ready infrastructure, with the rollout integrated within its existing investment framework.
Safaricom
Safaricom delivered strong financial performance, with Group service revenue up 11.1 percent, driven by continued growth in Kenya and scaling operations in Ethiopia. EBITDA increased 34.9 percent in shillings, supported by both markets, while net income attributable to equity holders rose 52.1 percent, reflecting strong operations in Kenya and reduced foreign exchange losses in Ethiopia.
In Kenya, service revenue grew 9.3 percent, led by a 14.0 percent increase in M-Pesa revenue. The growth was driven by a 13.3 percent rise in M-Pesa customers and a 21.9 percent increase in transaction volumes to 20.9 billion. Safaricom and M-Pesa Africa continued expanding financial inclusion through new wealth management products, which reached assets under management of KShs 15 billion, and growing business payments, with 2.4 million merchants on the platform, up 55.2 percent.
Kenyan mobile data revenue grew 13.4 percent and exceeded voice revenue for the first time, supported by customer growth and strong 4G adoption. Voice revenue declined 2.1 percent, while fixed and wholesale transit revenue rose 9.5 percent to KShs 9.2 billion, driven by a 16.3 percent increase in consumer fixed revenue. FTTH customers rose 35.1 percent to 355,175, with homes passed nearing 800,000. Safaricom invested KShs 34.2 billion in Kenya, maintaining a capital intensity ratio of 17.2 percent, and guided full-year capex of KShs 54-57 billion.
In Ethiopia, Safaricom expanded its customer base by 83.7 percent to 11.1 million, supported by 3,306 active sites. Service revenue surged 179.1 percent, driven by customer growth and rising voice usage. Capital expenditure reached KShs 9.5 billion (R1.3 billion). Safaricom expects a medium-term customer base of 15-20 million in Ethiopia by FY2027.
