Vodacom Group’s investment in Safaricom, Africa’s second biggest telco by market capitalisation has boosted its profits by 30.4 per cent.
The Group in its annual results announcement said the growth was bolstered by currency factors and inclusion of the new M-Pesa joint venture.
“Significant investments in network and infrastructure, an acceleration in pricing transformation and a 17.2% underlying increase in revenue from M-Pesa, all contributed to Safaricom’s success,” said Vodacom.
Safaricom and Vodacom announced in April that they had completed the acquisition of the M-Pesa brand from the Vodafone Group in a transaction reportedly worth Kshs 1.4 billion.
South Africa’s Vodacom and UK’s Vodafone Group hold a combined 40 percent stake in Safaricom.
Apart from South Africa and Kenya through its stake in Safaricom, the Vodacom brand has a presence in Tanzania, the DRC, Mozambique and Lesotho.
Currently, 40 million customers use M-Pesa across all Vodacom Group operations, generating total revenue of $334.8 million with an annual growth of 22%.
