By Luis Monzon.
South African telecom giant Vodacom Group announced its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2026, reporting a net profit of R26.7 billion amid a surge in customer numbers and fintech activity.
Net profit was up 34% year on year, with significant contributions from its Egyptian business and Safaricom in Kenya, in which Vodacom recently took a controlling stake.
“Our diversified portfolio continues to demonstrate resilience across geographies,” said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO.
“Egypt delivered an impressive performance, with local‑currency service revenue and EBITDA growth of 36.2% and 44.5%, respectively.”
The Egyptian arm, headed by Mohamed Abdallah, contributed 29.7% to group earnings before tax. Meanwhile, the group received a R4.6 billion contribution to its operating profit from Safaricom.
Total group revenues were up 10.1% to R167.6 billion, compared with R152 billion the year prior, driving total operating profit of R44 billion, a 23.2% year-on-year increase.
Capital expenditure rose by 16.5% to R23.6 billion, and headline earnings, a measure of the profitability of South African companies, rose 22.9% to 1,053 cents per share.
While South Africa accounted for the group’s single-largest service revenue share at R64 billion, the biggest performer was Egypt, with a 30.2% year-over-year increase to R36 billion.
The Egyptian business contributed R36 billion to group service revenue, while the group also benefited from Safaricom, which posted R55 billion in service revenue.
International service revenue was up 9.9% to R33.6 billion, with the total group service revenue for the year jumping to R133.5 billion. A dividend of 735 cents per share was declared, an 18.5% increase.
Vodacom announced it added 26 million new customers to the group this year alone, bringing the total base to 237.3 million. Joosub said that customer additions exceeded the target by more than double.
This surge in customer numbers enabled the Group to increase its Vision 2030 customer targets from 250 million to 275 million by 2030.
“This was a year that reflected both continuity and acceleration: staying true to the strengths that have served us well, while confidently stepping into the next phase of our growth journey,” said Joosub.
“With headline earnings and free cash each growing by more than 20%, the benefits of our revenue and geographic diversification are apparent, even amid a complex and dynamic macroeconomic environment.”
Diversification across markets sees results
“Safaricom, an associate of the Group, delivered an excellent performance,” he said. The Group announced an agreement to acquire an additional 20% stake in Safaricom in December 2025.
The acquisition allowed Vodacom Group to incorporate Safaricom’s results in its reporting and add its financials to the Group. Safaricom was previously under Vodacom’s parent, the Vodafone Group.
“This transformational transaction reinforces our commitment to the high-growth East African markets of Kenya and Ethiopia, “said Joosub, and added that the closing of the transaction is still subject to a court process.
As for its businesses, Joosub said that the strong group momentum was supported by strong performances across Vodacom’s markets, with Egypt at the lead in terms of growth.
It was followed by growth in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and supported by “resilience” in South Africa and Mozambique. South African service revenue growth increased by 2.1%.
Joosub said that the local business was “supported by an improving prepaid trend in the fourth quarter, strong data demand and continued growth in beyond mobile services.”
The sluggish growth in its home market reinforced Vodacom Group’s push in external countries, with Kenya and Ethiopia, under Safaricom highlighted by the group executive.
“This result was underpinned by sustained operational excellence in Kenya and improving scale in Ethiopia,” he said.
“We were encouraged by Ethiopia’s performance, with customer growth of 54.2% to 13.6 million and losses narrowing as the business continues to scale.”
Vodacom Group was part of the consortium that invested in Safaricom’s push into Ethiopia since 2019. The East African country’s first private telecom, Safaricom, broke Ethio Telecom’s public monopoly.
Beyond the international business, Joosub said that the acquisition of South African fibre operator Maziv is “expected to materially enhance the Group’s beyond mobile positioning” in the coming years.
“The Group’s fibre footprint will extend to 3.6 million homes passed, strengthening our connectivity leadership and long‑term growth potential,” he said.
Vodacom’s challenge across its markets shifted to access to devices as it extends network coverage. The company is focused on addressing the device problem, he said.
“We added 18.8 million smartphones during the year, lifting smartphone penetration across the Group to 68.6%, supported by continued progress in handset affordability innovations.”
Vodacom Group results for the year ended 31 March 2026
| Metric | Current Year (FY2026) | Previous Year (FY2025) | YoY Growth (%) |
| Total Revenue | R167.6 billion | R152.0 billion | +10.1% |
| Service Revenue | R133.5 billion | R120.7 billion | +10.6% |
| Net Profit | R26.7 billion | R19.8 billion | +34.0% |
| Operating Profit | R44.0 billion | R35.7 billion | +23.2% |
| Headline Earnings | 1,053 cents per share | 857 cents per share | +22.9% |
| Capital Expenditure | R23.6 billion | R20.2 billion | +16.5% |
| Total Customer Base | 237.3 million | 211.3 million | +12.3% |