Results out of Egypt continue to show that Vodacom’s investment in the country makes sense, the operation now accounting for almost a quarter of the group’s revenue.
On Wednesday, Vodacom reported a strong third-quarter performance, boosted by sustained growth in Egypt and its international business.
Group revenue grew 11% to R43.9bn in the quarter ended in December and 11.7% on a normalised basis, which presents performance on a comparable basis.
Group service revenue grew 12.7%, with normalised growth of 13.6%.
The period benefited from sustained growth in Egypt and the international business, including a strong performance in the Democratic Republic of Congo, CEO Shameel Joosub said.
Of the total, Egypt grew service revenue by 39% to R9.5bn, with Egypt financial services revenue up 59.4%.
The Egyptian unit accounted for 27.5% of group service revenue in the quarter.
Performance was driven by “strong commercial momentum, enhancements to integrated connectivity and content packages, and continued traction of Vodafone Cash”.
“Consistent network investment, including the roll-out of 5G services, underpinned healthy ARPU [average revenue per unit] growth and reinforced Egypt’s leadership in customer experience and digital innovation,” said the Vodacom boss.
South Africa delivered “modest but satisfactory” revenue growth against a particularly strong comparative quarter last year, Joosub said. The country remains the group’s biggest earner, with service revenue increasing 1.4% to R16.4bn.
Vodacom’s customer growth strategy has been boosted by the purchase of Vodafone Egypt in December 2022 for R42bn to access the market leader in the country, with a market share of more than 40% at the time. That unit now accounts for 54.2-million customers, the largest single market, a title that had been held by its home country, South Africa.
International business service revenue increased 12.6%, with normalised growth accelerating to 15.4%, Vodacom said in a statement on Wednesday.
Group financial services remain a key growth engine, and revenue increased by 24.7% to R4.5bn, while $500.7bn in transactions were conducted through the group’s mobile money platforms, including Safaricom, over the past 12 months.
Including Safaricom, the group passed the 100-million financial services customers mark during the quarter.
“From a financial performance perspective, the ideal start we delivered in the first half of the year to our bold Vision 2030 ambitions continued into the third quarter,” said Joosub.
“This encouraging momentum underscores our confidence in the group’s medium-term growth trajectory in an operating environment shaped by macroeconomic and currency stability, which should bode well for the group’s performance for the full financial year.”
During the third quarter, Vodacom strengthened its long-term growth profile and accelerated inclusive connectivity across its footprint with an agreement to acquire an additional 20% stake in Safaricom for $2.1bn. The acquisition reinforced its commitment to the high-growth East African markets of Kenya and Ethiopia.
In November, its acquisition of a strategic stake in South African fibre business Maziv received Icasa’s final approval, unlocking the opportunity to accelerate fibre deployment and expand access to high-quality connectivity, particularly in historically underserved communities, it said.
Joosub said Vodacom will remain focused on delivering its medium-term targets, advancing financial inclusion, and executing with discipline across products and geographies.
Update: February 4 2026
This story has additional information.
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