LEADING cellular network service provider Vodacom, which has released an impressive set of results for the half-year ended September 30, said it is exploring other growth opportunities in the continent.
Chief executive officer, Pieter Uys said the recent transaction by Vodafone will be instrumental in that ambition.
“We are the market leader in South Africa and this will always be our home base, but we also need to look elsewhere for growth.
The Vodafone transaction announced two weeks ago is an important step forward. Not only do we gain from closer ties with the world’s leading mobile communications company, we will also be their exclusive investment vehicle for sub-Saharan Africa. We believe that this ensures a bright future for Vodacom,” he said.
Announcing the results, which saw the company’s profit increase by 12.5 percent to R6.4 billion, he added that its subscriber base increased in all the countries it operates in.
In South Africa where it is based it now has 25.2 million subscribers and 1.3 million in Mozambique.
It also operates in Tanzania, DRC and Lesotho.
“I’m pleased with our performance over the past six months, with strong growth evident in all key areas including customer numbers, revenue and profits,” Uys said.
He added, “Vodacom has seen a number of significant changes over the past few months. As we evolve, we’ve increased the non-voice share of our business and increased the portion of our business coming from high growth markets outside South Africa. With the intended acquisitions of Gateway Communications and StorTech announced in August, we have opened up further opportunities in servicing the total communications needs of corporate clients and we have gained footholds in important new markets across Africa.”
By ITnewsAfrica.com
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