Johannesburg - Vodacom Group, the South African unit of Vodafone Group, said first-quarter revenue increased 7 percent as data sales from international operations helped ease pressure on growth in its domestic market.
Sales rose to R19.6 billion ($1.6 billion) in the three months through June, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Thursday
Data revenue increased 35 percent to R4.8 billion.
“We invested another R2.4 billion in the network this quarter,” CEO Shameel Joosub said in the statement.
This increased data traffic growth in South Africa and even more so in the international operations, he said.
Vodacom, which is 65 percent owned by Newbury, England- based Vodafone, is expanding in sub-Saharan Africa to counter regulatory pressure on sales growth in South Africa, where it’s the market leader in terms of subscriber numbers.
The company got anti-trust approval to acquire Internet provider Neotel last month as it seeks to offer new services in the country while adding small-to-medium sized business customers.
Vodacom’s active customer numbers rose 6.5 percent to 63.5 million across the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania as well as its home market.
South Africa sales gained 5.5 percent while revenue from the other markets increased 14 percent.
Bloomberg