Vodacom Q1 2025 Revenue Jumps 10.6% to $2.2 Billion on Strong African Markets

Vodacom Group reported a 10.6% year-on-year revenue increase to $2.2 billion for the first quarter of its 2025 financial year, driven by strong performance across its African markets. The company’s service revenue grew to $1.8 billion, exceeding medium-term targets, with Egypt and South Africa contributing significantly to the results. In South Africa, service revenue rose 1.8% to R15.3 billion, supported by a recovering prepaid segment and a 31.3% surge in data traffic. Beyond mobile services, including financial and digital offerings, accounted for 17% of South Africa’s service revenue, generating R2.6 billion [1].

Egypt emerged as a key growth driver, with service revenue rising 43.7% in local currency terms. The region’s financial services revenue jumped 87%, fueled by a 47.9% increase in Vodafone Cash users to 8.7 million, contributing to Egypt’s 21.9% share of Vodacom’s total service revenue. Vodacom’s financial services segment overall saw an 8.7% revenue increase to R3.3 billion, with normalized growth at 16.8%. The company processed $400.2 billion in mobile money transactions over the past year, reinforcing its position as Africa’s largest mobile money platform by transaction value [1].

International operations, including Tanzania, the DRC, Mozambique, and Lesotho, reported a 2.3% rise in service revenue to R7.4 billion, with normalized growth at 5.7%. Tanzania delivered exceptional results in local currency, while the DRC posted high single-digit growth in U.S. dollar terms. Data revenue across these markets grew 15.5%, supported by a 29.6% increase in data traffic and a smartphone user base of 16.4 million [1].

Vodacom allocated R1.9 billion to network infrastructure in the quarter, with plans to invest R11.5 billion annually to enhance connectivity. CEO Shameel Joosub highlighted the company’s focus on diversifying revenue streams and expanding digital inclusion. “Our strategy to diversify revenue by product and geography is bearing fruit,” he stated, emphasizing the role of initiatives like the VodaPay super-app and M-Pesa in driving financial inclusion [1].

Despite foreign exchange headwinds, particularly from a strengthening South African rand, the company’s normalized growth metrics demonstrated underlying resilience. Post-election tensions in Mozambique since October 2024, however, impacted operations in the region. Vodacom also announced plans to acquire a stake in South African fibre operator Maziv, pending regulatory approval, as part of its Vision 2030 strategy to bridge the digital divide [1].

The company’s long-term goals include achieving double-digit service revenue growth by 2028 and ensuring 30% of revenue comes from non-mobile services by 2030. With a customer base exceeding 210 million across its markets, Vodacom aims to connect an additional 100 million Africans to the digital economy.

Source: [1] [Vodacom Group reports robust Q1 2025 revenue growth, hitting $2.2 billion] [https://technext24.com/2025/07/23/vodacom-group-2-billion-q1-2025-revenue/]