Vodacom gets big Egypt boost
Vodacom published a trading update for the quarter ended 31 December 2025 on Wednesday, reporting that group revenue grew by 11% to R43.9 billion.
Group service revenue grew 12.7%, tracking favourably against the company’s medium-term target, buoyed by its operations in Egypt, where service revenue grew by 39% to R9.5 billion.
Egypt’s financial services revenue was up 59.4%. Vodacom acquired a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt in December 2022, in a deal valued at R48.1 billion.
Vodacom’s international business increases service revenue by 12.6%. In South Africa, service revenue grew by 1.4%, supported by Vodacom’s beyond mobile strategy.
Group financial services revenue increased by 24.7% to R4.5 billion, with Vodacom reporting that it transacted $500.7 billion (R8 billion) in the past 12 months through its mobile money platforms.
Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said the significant strategic progress during the quarter was marked by two milestones that strengthen the company’s long-term growth profile.
“In December, we announced an agreement to acquire an additional 20% stake in Safaricom, reinforcing our commitment to the high-growth East African markets of Kenya and Ethiopia,” said Joosub.
“In November, our acquisition of a strategic stake in South African fibre business Maziv received ICASA’s final approval.
Joosub said the Maziv acquisition unlocks the opportunity to accelerate fibre deployment and expand access to high-quality connectivity, particularly in historically underserved communities.
“The quarter benefited from sustained growth in Egypt and our International business — including a strong performance in DRC,” he said.
“South Africa delivered modest but satisfactory revenue growth against a particularly strong comparative quarter last year.”
Despite a challenging consumer environment and a strong comparative period last year in South Africa, service revenue grew by 1.4% to R16.4 billion.
Joosub said South Africa’s service revenue was supported by robust growth in financial services, fixed connectivity, and IoT.
“The contract segment grew 2.6%, supported by ARPU growth. Prepaid revenue was under pressure as the result of a tougher consumer backdrop and promotional pricing,” he said.
“Data traffic surged by 32.3%, supported by sustained investment in network quality and a highly successful summer campaign driving strong engagement on smart devices.”
Vodacom international data and financial services performance
Including Safaricom, Vodacom passed the 100 million financial services customers mark during the quarter.
“We continue to invest in quality and resilience, modernising networks, scaling 4G and 5G where appropriate, and expanding fibre to bridge the digital divide,” said Joosub.
“Our international business continued to deliver excellent results, with service revenue up 12.6% to R8.8 billion.”
Joosub said the region benefited from strong commercial execution, network modernisation, and the scaling of advanced digital and financial services.
Data revenue grew by 21.1%, contributing 31.2% of international business service revenue, while M-Pesa revenue accelerated to 22.1% growth, driven by double-digit expansion across all markets.
The customer base increased by 12.5% to 65.7 million, which Joosub said reflected the success of innovative financing options and adoption of new products such as communal savings and fuel loans.
“Egypt remains a standout performer, with service revenue now accounting for 27.5% of Group service revenue in the quarter,” stated Joosub.
“This was driven by strong commercial momentum, enhancements to integrated connectivity and content packages, and continued traction of Vodafone Cash.”
Egyptian data traffic expanded by 25.1%, with data customers up 8.9% to 33.9 million. Joosub said consistent network investment, including the roll-out of 5G services, underpinned healthy ARPU growth.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on delivering our medium‑term targets, advancing financial inclusion, and executing with discipline across products and geographies,” said Joosub.
“Continued execution of our strategy has the potential to create immense economic value in the markets where we operate, helping to address inequality.”
| Quarter ended 31 December | YoY change | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rm | 2025 | 2024 | Reported | Normalised |
| Group revenue | R43,898 | R39,531 | 11.0% | 11.7% |
| South Africa | R24,002 | R23,865 | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Egypt | R11,108 | R7,767 | 43.0% | 43.7% |
| International | R9,359 | R8,179 | 14.4% | 17.4% |
| Group service revenue | R34,606 | R30,693 | 12.7% | 13.6% |
| South Africa | R16,418 | R16,192 | 1.4% | 1.4% |
| Egypt | R9,506 | R6,837 | 39.0% | 39.7% |
| International | R8,813 | R7,829 | 12.6% | 15.4% |
| Normalised growth adjusts for trading foreign exchange, foreign currency fluctuation on a constant currency basis (using the current year as base) and excludes the impact of merger, acquisition and disposal activities to show a like-for-like comparison of results. | ||||
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