JSE-listed Vodacom on Monday posted growth across the board for the first half of the 2019 financial year, with service revenue up 6.1% to R36.8-billion and group revenue up 5.6% to R44.4-billion.

During the six months ended September 30, the group achieved headline earnings a share of 385c, a 6% increase on the prior period when excluding the black economic-empowerment deal charges and the Safaricom acquisition, but a decline from 445c apiece in the six months ended September 30, 2017.

Vodacom declared an interim dividend of 395c for the interim period.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) reached R16.4-billion, a 4.7% hike on the corresponding six-month period the year before.

Group earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) improved by 3.4% to R11.2-billion, with a strong improvement in the international operations, which achieved double-digit growth during the period under review.

The group added 4.8-million customers – a 10.7% jump – during the half-year under review, comprising 2.5-million in South Africa and 2.3-million in the international operations, Vodacom group CEO Shameel Joosub said.

Safaricom added 373 000 customers, bringing the combined customer base to 109-million.

The South African operations posted revenue growth of 4.3% to R35.3-billion, while service revenue increased by 4.6% to R27.9-billion, supported by strong 10.2% customer growth and a 7.5% hike in data revenue to R12.2-billion.

Ebitda increased by 2.8% to R13.75-billion.

The international operations achieved double-digit growth boosted by rising customer numbers, strong growth in data and M-Pesa, with revenue rising 11% to R9.6-billion, service revenue expanding 11.4% to R9.3-billion and data revenue surging 24.1% to R1.4-billion.

The combined customer base, including Safaricom, grew by 13.7% to 34.2-million.

“Our strategic investment in Safaricom, concluded in the previous financial year, is exceeding our expectations having contributed R1.4-billion to the Vodacom group's operating profit. Safaricom reported a 7.7% increase in service revenue and an 18.7% rise in Ebit,” Joosub said.

The group reported significant capital investment of R5.3-billion during the six months to September 30 to expand coverage and improve the quality of networks.

“We invested R4-billion in South Africa alone in the past six months and, at the same time, we reduced effective voice and data prices by 8.5% and 16.4% respectively,” Joosub noted.

“We continue to accelerate our rural coverage expansion programme to bridge the digital divide and will prioritise an additional 200 villages this year to add to the 101 communities that we connected during the first quarter of this year,” Joosub concluded.