Vodacom is booming

Vodacom Group, South Africa’s biggest telecoms operator, reported a nearly 33% jump in interim profit on Monday, driven by double-digit service revenue growth and expansion of its financial services.

The company, majority owned by Britain’s Vodafone, said its headline earnings per share (HEPS), a key profit measure in the country, jumped to 467 cents in the six-month period ended September 30, up from 353 cents last year.

The figure includes a settlement from a 17-year legal dispute over a call-back service, which Vodacom had not previously disclosed.

SBG Securities on Friday estimated the settlement at roughly 500 million rand ($28.88 million), based on the mid-point of Vodacom’s revised HEPS estimate range of 459 cents and 494 cents.

Group service revenue climbed 12.2% to 65.8 billion rand, while normalised service revenue grew 13.6%, surpassing the company’s medium-term target of double-digit growth.

Beyond mobile services, including financial and digital offerings, made up 21.8% of service revenue, with financial services alone up 20.3% at 8 billion rand, representing 12.2% of total group revenue.

The group declared an interim dividend of 330 cents apiece.

($1 = 17.3125 rand)

• Reporting by Siyanda Mthethwa, Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla.