Telecommunications giant Vodacom has reported strong results for the quarter ended June 2021 on the back of a good performance in South Africa and a recovery in the international business.
Group revenue climbed 9% to R24.8-billion, while group service revenue increased 2.2% to R19.2-billion. On a normalised basis, this represented growth of 14.2% and 7.8% respectively, as the group’s international business growth accelerated.
In South Africa, revenue increased 13.2% to R19.5-billion, while service revenue increased 5.2% to R14.1-billion, owing to sustained demand for connectivity services and strong growth in new services.
“Vodacom Business revenue was up 14.1%, reflecting this connectivity demand and the integration of new digital service offerings, such as Internet of Things. Financial services in South Africa remained a strong performer, delivering revenue growth of 19.1%,” said Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub.
The reported service revenue decline of 6.3% to R5.3-billion in the international markets reflects the impact of currency translation, with the rand recovering sharply and appreciating by 20% against a basket of its international currencies, negatively impacting the reported result.
The international business reported a service revenue contraction of 5.2% to R5.5-billion; however, on a normalised basis, the international portfolio delivered service revenue growth of 13.5%, marking a meaningful recovery from the prior financial year.
The international performance was supported by M-Pesa revenue growth, which was up 43.2% on a normalised basis, benefiting from the increased customer base, higher platform use and the reinstatement of peer-to-peer M-Pesa transaction fees.
The group’s financial services revenue, excluding Safaricom, contributed 9.8% of consolidated services revenue and grew 33.9% on a normalised basis, and 17.4% on a reported basis, to R1.9-billion.