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Johannesburg - Vodacom Group [JSE:VOD], the South African
unit of Britain’s Vodafone, reported a 12% jump in the third-quarter sales on
Wednesday, buoyed by solid growth in customers and its data business.
Vodacom said October-December revenue totalled R17.99bn up
from R16.03bn a year earlier.
The company has been focusing on expansion outside its
crowded home market as well as increasing its revenue from mobile data, which
is expected to have huge growth potential in Africa.
Vodacom boosted its customers by 27% to 52.9 million, with
nearly half of the new customers from outside South Africa.
Outside of its home market, Vodacom has operations in
Democratic Republic of Congo - where it has been locked in a long dispute with
its local partner - and a handful of smaller markets such as Tanzania,
Mozambique and Lesotho.
Although the dominant mobile carrier in South Africa,
Vodacom is dwarfed on the continent by South African rival MTN Group [JSE:MTN]
and India’s Bharti Airtel.
Vodacom has said it is looking for opportunities for further
expansion in Africa, with an emphasis on small-scale acquisitions in countries
adjacent to its existing operations.
Data revenue increased by 24%, the company said.
