Cell C is heading towards a turnaround, with 2013 and the first five months of 2014 showing excellent results and dramatically increased customer growth.
“We are exceptionally pleased with the business’s performance over the last 18 months and while we still have some way to go, our shareholders are pleased with the path we are following now,” says newly appointed Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos.
Cell C’s subscriber base increased by 35% year-on-year by the end of 2013. This translated to a total revenue increase of 14% year-on-year.
By the end of 2013, Cell C had a customer base of 13.6 million, a net growth of 3.5 million for the year. “The growth was primarily driven by the prepaid market, which was up by 40%. Prepaid customer spend also increased by 31% year-on-year,” says Dos Santos.
Hybrid, postpaid and broadband subscribers grew by 14%, 9% and 55% respectively. “Broadband remains a large growth area for Cell C, as it does with our competitors,” says Dos Santos.
Moving into 2014, the company continues to see robust customer growth, with most months seeing Cell C adding over 1 million gross connections. “March was an exceptional month for the company and we added 1.6million gross connections, with 1 million of those being net connections. The total customer base of Cell C as at the end of April 2014 is 16.6 million,” says Dos Santos.
To support this continued growth, Cell C has budgeted R2.3 billion for CAPEX spend in 2014.
Staff writer
