DATA AND M-PESA KEY AS VODACOM TANZANIA DELIVERS STRONG FULL YEAR RESULTS

Vodacom Tanzania Managing Director, Hisham Hendi (centre) speaking to the media during a press conference to announce the company’s preliminary results and the success achieved in financial inclusion and connectivity for its customers in the financial year that ended on 31st March 2019. On the left is Vodacom Director of Corporate Affairs, Rosalynn Mworia.  

Vodacom Tanzania Managing Director, Hisham Hendi (centre) speaking to the media during a press conference to announce the company’s preliminary results and the success achieved in financial inclusion and connectivity for its customers in the financial year that ended on 31st March 2019. On the left is Vodacom Director of Corporate Affairs, Rosalynn Mworia.  

 VODACOM Tanzania PLC (“Vodacom”) announced its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2019. The company achieved a 5.4% growth in service revenue, reaching TZS1,018.9 billion, driven by strong growth in M-Pesa, mobile data and messaging revenue demonstrating its ambition to pioneer inclusive growth through financial inclusion and connectivity.  

Vodacom maintained market leadership as the No. 1 mobile and financial service operator in Tanzania with 14.1 million customers- a growth of 9.6%, increasing its market share to 32.4%. Leadership in mobile money grew to 38.6% reaching 7 million M-Pesa users transacting over TZS4.1 trillion monthly.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam, Vodacom’s Managing Director, Hisham Hendi said, “The M-Pesa platform continues to open up opportunities for Tanzanians to earn a living registering 620,000 new customers, enabling them to transact through mobile money.’ M-Pesa revenue grew 14.5% to TZS333.5 billion, recording a healthy 9.7% growth in empowered customers transacting on the platform.  

M-Pesa’s performance is also attributed to the “Lipa kwa M-Pesa” merchant solution which simplifies customer payments at the point of sale. The innovation has supported the government’s drive to foster a strong and competitive economy through the 11 000 active merchants that effected TZS1.1 trillion in transactions during the year, a remarkable increase of 186.0%.

‘The power of digital technology continues to connect Tanzanians to live a better today and build a brighter tomorrow,’ said Hisham. The company’s growth in data revenue increased to TZS167 billion, a 17.9% growth, while proactive measures to stabilize voice revenue decline are proving to be successful.  Interventions to establish floor pricing are critical as current data rates are below cost per MB with the country’s prices recorded as the lowest in Africa. This hinders the company’s ability to reinvest in infrastructure and technology to advance connectivity to Tanzanians.

Highlighting Vodacom’s investment to enhance the customer experience by increasing 4G and 4G+ coverage in major cities, Hisham said, ‘the country’s youth dividend presents an opportunity for the company to upgrade capacity and modernise the network to enable a superior data customer experience.’ During the year, Vodacom made a significant investment of TZS171.4 billion to advance connectivity and added 322 4G sites and 197 3G sites which has enabled it to maintain leadership in 4G coverage across the country.

As expected, the company has seen a 51.9% decline in earnings per share to TZS40.28 as a result of the accounting gain on the sale of equity stake in Helios Towers that was experienced last year. However, excluding these gains, the share-based payments that were recognised in the prior year and one-off penalty, earnings per share grew 21.4%.  The company’s focus on cost optimization through the ‘Fit for Growth’ programme has supported a remarkable 20.3% growth in EBIT with a margin of 11.2%, expanding 1.4ppts.

Speaking on Vodacom’s future outlook, Hisham said, “Looking ahead, we remain steadfast in delivering on our strategy by targeting an enhanced data user experience across the country, expanding our mobile money ecosystem through new partnerships and services, and further investment into our high-value and youth segments. 

Through the Vodacom Foundation we will continue to harness the power of mobile technology and innovation to transform societies and create new possibilities for women and girls in health, education and generate opportunities for financial inclusion.  I am confident that our approach will continue to provide resilience and tailored solutions that address development challenges as we seek to deliver on our vision to lead Tanzania into the digital age and to change lives through technology.”

For a copy of the consolidated preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2019, please visit www.vodacom.co.tz/investor-relations

Multimedia release posts

1.      A quote card for the Managing Director:

 “We have delivered a strong performance in key strategic growth pillars; M-Pesa and data, with M-Pesa growing by 38.6% to TZS 333.5 billion and data to TZS167 billion which marks a 17.9% growth. I am confident that our approach will continue to provide resilience and tailored solutions that address development challenges to deliver our vision to lead Tanzania into the digital age and change lives through technology.”

-          Vodacom Tanzania Managing Director, Hisham Hendi.

‘Vodacom’s ambition to pioneer inclusive growth through financial inclusion and connectivity is demonstrated in its full year results. The company achieved a 5.4% growth in service revenue, reaching TZS1,018.9 billion, driven by strong growth in M-Pesa, mobile data and messaging revenue.

2. Posts -

1.      Vodacom Tanzania maintain market leadership as the No. 1 mobile and financial service operator in Tanzania with a 5.4% growth in service revenue reaching TZS 1,018.9 billion.  #VodacomTzAnnualResults2019

2.      The M-Pesa platform continues to open up opportunities for Tanzanians to earn a living registering 620,000 new customers. #VodacomTzAnnualResults2019

3.      Leadership in mobile money grew to 38.6% reaching 7 million active M-Pesa users transacting over TZS 4.1 trillion monthly. # VodacomTzAnnualResults2019

4.      Vodacom supports the government’s drive to foster a strong and competitive economy through the 11 000 active merchants that effected TZS1.1 trillion in transactions during the year, a remarkable increase of 186.0%. #VodacomTzAnnualResults2019

5.      Vodacom Tanzania reached 14.1 million customers - a growth of 9.6%, increasing its market share to 32.4%. # VodacomTzAnnualResults2019

6.      M-Pesa and data remain key strategic pillars for Vodacom Tanzania’s growth as we continue to deliver on our vision to lead Tanzania into the digital age and change lives through technology.”  #VodacomAnnualResults2019