Cell C to announce the outcome of its talks with Branson’s Virgin before year-end

In a statement, Cell C’s management says the company has been reporting profits every month since May 2004.

In the quarter, Cell C added 441 000 pre-paid subscribers, 62 000 post-paid subscribers to its base, and had 2,7m subscribers at the end of the period.

At the September mark, Vodacom had 15,8m subscribers on its South African network, while MTN reported 9m.

While the two bigger networks say that the average amount spent by subscribers is declining, Cell C reported an increase in this figure.

The average revenue for both pre- and post-paid users was R153 per use per month, up from R142 last year.

Cell C says it now has 10% of the market in revenue terms: “During the current quarter, Cell C conceded 0,3% of pre-paid market share and gained 0,5% post-paid market share. This improvement in Cell C’s postpaid market share is a result of it having achieved a 22% share of net additions for the third quarter.”

In a statement, the company said its discussions with Richard Branson’s Virgin to form “a joint venture service provider in South Africa under the Virgin Mobile brand are progressing well”.