Vodacom has released stats on their financial performance and growth for the the year ending 31 March 2012.
The company’s group service revenue and group EBITDA have increased by 7.8% and 10.5% respectively, while there was a 54.3% increase in the total dividend per share (up to 710 cents).
Vodacom’s customers increased over the period by 29.9%, adding 11 million new clients to their user base. The company also holds the top spot for net promoter score (NPS) in South Africa. Active data clients jumped by 35.4%, bringing total users for 12.2 million over the period. Smartphones active on Vodacom’s network rose to 5.1 million handsets and the company saw data revenue growth of 23.6%.
Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys said “Our first year of trading as the new red Vodacom has been a big success. Our customer base has expanded 30% to 48 million, we’ve invested R8.7 billion in our networks and we’ve achieved the number one net promoter score in South Africa and in two out of our three measured International markets. From a financial perspective, thanks to building the top line and also managing costs, EBITDA is up 11% and HEPS is up 8%.
Perhaps more importantly, we’ve seen strong delivery in the areas driving growth into the future – data and the International businesses. Combined, these accounted for 87% of the growth in Group service revenue. We added five million active data customers, taking the total to 15 million and supporting data revenue growth of 27%. The International customer base has now reached 19 million, an increase of 36%, and this segment has passed the important milestone of generating positive free cash flow.
Overall, the team delivered a very solid performance and the platforms for growth are well established. The 24% growth in Group free cash flow supported a higher dividend of 710 cents and helped us deliver a 45% total shareholder return.”
