Vodacom highlighted quarterly revenue growth at home in South Africa and in its international operations, although it saw a drop in total subscriber numbers.

The company, majority owned by Vodafone, saw revenue grow 5.8 per cent for the quarter ending 30 June, hitting ZAR19.9 billion ($1.4 billion), up from ZAR18.8 billion in 2015, with CEO Shameel Joosub highlighting strong subscriber growth in South Africa, as well as robust demand for data.

In its home market of South Africa, the company said it added almost one million customers during the three month period, “which can be largely attributed to significant investments we continue to make in our infrastructure”, added Joosub.

South Africa, its largest market, saw a 4 per cent revenue rise compared to last year, reaching revenue of ZAR15.4 billion, from ZAR14.8 billion.

Other markets
International operations (Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique and Lesotho) combined hit revenue of ZAR4.6 billion, up from ZAR4 billion in the same period last year.

Despite strong subscriber gains in South Africa, the company saw a 2.6 per cent decline in overall customer numbers, with it now registering 61.8 million users, due to “new customer registration processes”.

Breaking out individual markets, there was a 28.8 per cent plunge in subscribers in DRC, to 8.5 million, while Mozambique dropped to 4.8 million, from 5 million last year.

Notably, rival MTN was hit with a $1.67 billion fine in Nigeria after failing to cut off unregistered users on its network, which could explain Vodacom’s more stringent approach to registration.

“We remain committed to actively bedding down new customer registration processes in the various markets we operate,” said Joosub.

Other standouts saw the company report strong data revenue growth to reach ZAR5.8 billion, up 19.4 per cent year on year.

M-Pesa, meanwhile, the company’s mobile payments system which failed in South Africa, saw an increase in active customers across its international operations of 34.7 per cent to 10.6 million. Revenue for the segment also grew to ZAR500 million.

In the statement, the company added it welcomed the announcement last week by the Independent Authority of South Africa, which invited operators to participate in an auction of “much needed spectrum”.

“This is major progressive step for the economy, South Africa’s telecommunications industry and the country as whole.”