Vodacom reported solid results for the year, upgrading its medium-term target to double-digit earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) growth. Group revenue rose to ZAR 152.2 billion, up 1.1% (10.9% on a normalized basis), despite currency volatility.
Group service revenue was flat (in ZAR), but grew by 11.2% on a normalized basis, surpassing the company’s medium-term targets. Financial services revenue climbed 7.6% (17.6%) to ZAR 14.0 billion, now contributing 11.6% of Group service revenue.
While reported Group EBITDA declined 1.1% to ZAR 55.5 billion, it increased 7.8% on a normalized basis. Vodacom now serves 211.3 million customers, including 87.7 million financial services users. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) rose to 857 cents, supported by strong second-half performance, and a full-year dividend of 620 cents per share was declared, increasing by 5.1%.
Commenting on the results, Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub, said, “As we draw the curtain on our Vision 2025 strategy, I am immensely proud of the progress we have made over the past five years in delivering on our targets.”
Customer numbers grew significantly over five years, from 115.5 million in financial year (FY) 2020 to 211.3 million in FY 2025, while financial services customers rose from 53.2 million to 87.7 million. “We will not be resting on our laurels and now seek to ensure we deliver against our Vision 2030 ambitions, which include growing our customer base to 260 million and financial services customer base to 120 million.” Added Joosub.
“While cementing our leadership in all forms of connectivity, we expect our Group service revenue contribution from beyond mobile to increase to 30% from 21% today.”
The Group upgraded its medium-term targets for both service revenue and EBITDA to double-digit growth. Joosub praised the strong finish to the year, highlighting the 11.2% normalized Group service revenue growth, customer-centric strategy, and commercial execution. Vodacom added 8.2 million customers during the year, reflecting a 4.0% rise.
Previous Results: Vodacom Reports Resilient Interim Results Amid Currency Headwinds
Market Highlights
Egypt performed exceptionally well, with a 45.2% local currency service revenue increase, driven by Vodafone Cash and strong mobile/fixed connectivity demand. With over 50 million customers, Egypt now contributes 23% of Group service revenue.
South Africa showed resilience, achieving 2.3% service revenue growth, driven by prepaid segment recovery, over 36.4% data traffic growth, and strong beyond-mobile contributions. Services like financial, digital, fixed, and the Internet of Things (IoT) accounted for ZAR 11.2 billion, or 17.8% of local service revenue. EBITDA in South Africa rose 2.3%, and the company invested ZAR 11.6 billion in network resilience and spectrum.
International operations (DRC, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania) achieved 7.1% service revenue growth on a normalized basis. Tanzania led with 20.5% revenue and 25.2% EBITDA growth in local currency. DRC and Lesotho saw revenue growth of 8.2% and 10.4% respectively. Challenges remain in Mozambique and DRC due to political unrest, though peace efforts bring hope for FY 2026.
M-PESA processed USD 450.8 billion in transactions, increasing by 18.3% and strengthening its position as Africa’s largest mobile money platform. Financial services revenue grew 17.6% on a normalized basis. Safaricom reported ZAR 22.6 billion in financial services revenue.
Ethiopia’s customer base more than doubled to 8.8 million, with service revenue in local currency growing 238.9%. Safaricom’s Kenyan operations grew service revenue by 10.5%, supported by M-PESA and data. Though Ethiopia’s currency devaluation affected earnings in the first half, Safaricom’s strong second-half recovery supported full-year Group earnings growth.
HEPS rose by 1.3% to 857 cents. The Board declared a final dividend of 335 cents, bringing the total dividend for the year to 620 cents.
The Group remains committed to infrastructure investment, planning more than ZAR 20 billion in capital expenditure (CapEx) in FY 2026. Social initiatives such as m-mama, Code Like a Girl, Techstart, and Je Suis Cap are transforming lives across Africa, as Vodacom aims to upskill one million youth to bridge the digital skills gap.
Looking ahead, Vision 2030 will focus on empowering people, protecting the planet, and building trust. Strategic pillars include improving customer experience (CX), sustainable innovation, and growth-enabling investments.
“Despite current financial market turbulence, we are confident in the structural growth opportunity that Africa represents,” Joosub concluded. “Our leading market positions combined with a diversified portfolio that leverages a best-in-class digital and financial ecosystem positions us well to capture this opportunity and continue making a meaningful impact across the continent.”
