Vodacom reports resilient growth in 2025 results

Vodacom Group has announced its financial results for the year ended March 31 2025, highlighting a resilient performance driven by strong customer growth, diversification into new revenue streams, and steady progress toward its Vision 2030 strategy.

Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions across its markets, the Group recorded robust growth. Its customer base nearly doubled over five years, rising from 115.5 million in FY2020 to 211.3 million in FY2025.

Vodacom Lesotho CEO, Mohale Ralebitso, attributed this growth to a significant increase in financial services customers, which surged from 53.2 million to 87.7 million during the same period. This expansion, he said, underscores the success of Vodacom’s diversification strategy.

Group revenue for the year reached R152.2 billion. While this reflected a slight 0.1% decline on a reported basis, normalised revenue showed a solid 11.2% increase. Group service revenue also grew by 11.2% on a normalised basis, surpassing the Group’s medium-term targets.

Ralebitso said that Vodacom’s ‘beyond mobile’ services, which include fixed connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT), financial, and digital services, now contribute 21.4% of total revenue. This shift illustrates the Group’s strategic evolution into a broader technology company.

“Financial services remained a key growth driver, generating R14 billion in revenue — a 7.6% increase (17.6% on a normalised basis). Our fintech ecosystem, led by M-Pesa, processed an impressive US$450.8 billion (R8.1 trillion) in transactions, with annual transaction volumes increasing by 26.4% to 42.6 billion,” he noted, citing this performance solidifies Vodacom’s leadership in the African fintech space.

Geographically, the Group’s diversification was also evident. South Africa now accounts for 55.5% of operating profit, down from 71% in FY2020, indicating a growing contribution from international markets. These markets, including Vodacom Lesotho, delivered a 2.6% increase in service revenue (7.1% normalised), totalling R30.6 billion.

Ralebitso indicated that Vodacom is accelerating its transition into a leading technology company by growing its digital and financial services ecosystem. This includes the development of integrated platforms such as VodaPay, efforts to enhance financial inclusion through expanded credit, savings and insurance services, and the growth of its merchant network.

Under its Vision 2030 framework, the Group aims to increase revenue from beyond mobile services to 30%.

Operational resilience remained strong, supported by continued investments in network modernisation, infrastructure sharing, and a deep commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. The Group is focused on profitable growth through cost optimisation and strategic capital deployment.

Commenting on the results, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said: “Despite macroeconomic headwinds, we are proud to have delivered on our Vision 2025 goals. We demonstrated resilient growth and concluded FY2025 strongly with 8.2 million new customers.”