Vodacom posts 4.7 percent revenue growth on data

Dar es Salaam. Vodacom Tanzania’s revenues grew by 4.7 percent during the six-month period from April 1 to September 30, 2022, thanks to sustained double-digit rise in income from data.

The only telecommunication company operating in Tanzania listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) reported Sh507.991 billion in revenues during the period, up from Sh484.981 billion that was registered during a similar period last year.

While M-Pesa remains the major source of money amid a sustained decline in income from mobile voice, it is actually data that has emerged as the fastest growing revenue-generating stream for Vodacom during the period under review.

Mobile data revenue increased 29.9 percent to Sh125.9 billion.

This puts data as the third highest source of revenue for Vodacom Tanzania, contributing 24.8 percent of service revenue, the company’s interim condensed consolidated financial results for the period ended 30 September 2022, shows. At Sh169.6 billion and Sh143.8 billion, M-Pesa and mobile voice remain the first and second highest sources revenue for Vodacom Tanzania respectively.

This, according to the financial results, was due to 28.3 percent improvement in the average amount that subscribers spent on data (Average Revenue Per User - ARPU) during the period.

“….this reflects strong demand for data services as a result of our continued investment into the network and acceleration of smartphone adoption,” the company says in its financial statement, adding that during the period, monthly average usage per customer grew 28.6 percent to 2.0 gigabyte.

Similarly, smartphone users on Vodacom’s network grew 18.2 percent to 4.7 million representing 58.8 percent penetration to data customer base, thanks primarily to the firm’s commercial initiatives in driving smartphone adoption and conversion, including investment in device subsidy and expanding our share of open market device sales.

While M-Pesa is also seen to be on the recovery, the company says, the rise in revenue was also partly supported by another double-digit growth in revenue from fixed services.

“The decision by the government to review levies on mobile money transfer and withdrawal transactions introduced on 15 July 2021, is a welcome move. The reduction is particularly relevant to our peer-to-peer and cash-out transactions which posted a modest recovery in the second quarter and our ability to expand financial inclusion to more Tanzanians,” Vodacom Tanzania’s managing director, Mr Philip Besiimire, said.

M-Pesa customers recovered to 7.7 million, up 19.5 percent.