Vodacom books 12% rise in revenue in fiscal third-quarter on strong subs gains

South Africa-based regional mobile operator Vodacom Group said revenue in its third quarter ended 31 December 2011 increased 12% year-on-year to ZAR17.99 billion (USD2.38 billion) from ZAR16.03 billion in the same period of 2010, as it added a net five million users across its operation. Vodacom, the South African operating arm of Britain’s Vodafone Group, said its results were bolstered by a 27% rise in customer numbers and a 24% spike in sales derived from data-based mobile services. Vodacom’s consolidated subscriber base climbed to 52.9 million, with nearly half of all net additions (2.2 million) coming from international operations, which stood at 21.2 million by 31 December 2011. As well as being a key player in its home market, Vodacom is active in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with its local partner, and a handful of smaller markets such as Tanzania, Mozambique and Lesotho. ‘Our International operations maintained the positive momentum and accounted for more than 40% of the increase in our total customers,’ said Pieter Uys, Vodacom Group CEO in the firm’s trading statement.