18-Jun-2013
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that following her appointment as CEO of Royal Bafokeng Holdings, Ms Albertinah Kekana can no longer be considered as an independent director and will step down from the board with effect from the conclusion of the 18th annual general meeting to be held on Thursday 18 July 2013. The board has nominated Ms Yolanda Cuba (BComm (Statistics), BComm, Honours (Accounting), CA (SA) to replace her. Yolanda's nomination to the Board as an independent non-executive director will be put to shareholders for approval at the 18th annual general meeting. She will also serve on Vodacom's Audit, Risk - Compliance Committee.
Shareholders were advised that the integrated report for the year ended 31 March 2013 was posted to shareholders and contains no material changes to the reviewed preliminary results that were announced on SENS on Monday 20 May 2013.
The annual consolidated financial statements were audited by Deloitte - Touche and their unqualified audit report is available for inspection at the company's registered office. The integrated report and audited consolidated annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2013 are available at www.vodacom.com.
The integrated report incorporates a notice of annual general meeting, which meeting will be held at Vodacom World, 082 Vodacom Boulevard, Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday 18 July 2013 at 11:00 (SA time). |
10-Jun-2013
(Media Comment) | According to Business Report, Vodacom's business unit looks to win over as many as 50 000 subscribers or about 6 000 small businesses through a value-added service it initiated. The service, known as One Net Express, allows small businesses to receive the same cellphone functions or desk phone operating on Vodacom's third-generation network as a fixed-mobile converged offering through a private automatic branch exchange (PABX), also called a switchboard. The products helps reduce costs and enable convenience. |
20-May-2013
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were referred to the preliminary results announcement for the year ended 31 March 2013 released earlier today which incorporated a dividend declaration. The net dividend payable after dividend withholding tax for those shareholders not exempt from dividend withholding tax is 365.50000 cents per share and not 373.91304 cents per share. |
20-May-2013
(C) | Revenue for the year increased to R69.9 billion (2012: R66.9 billion), operating profit rose to R18.9 billion (2013: R16.6 billion), while profit attributable to equity shareholders jumped to R13 billion (2012: R10.2 billion). Furthermore, headline earnings per share grew to 872.4cps (2012: 708.9cps).
Dividend
Notice is given that a gross final dividend number 8 of 430cps in respect of the financial year ending 31 March 2013 has been declared payable in cash.
Outlook
The on-going investments the group is making in deepening their competitive advantage and in driving growth and efficiency, will position the Group to improve their performance in the year ahead. Competition in markets will no doubt intensify. Vodacom's response, especially to pricing pressure, will focus on delivering an improved experience and better value to their customers according to their strategy. The company expects economic growth in South Africa to be slow, and they will need to work hard to keep costs flat in an environment of rising inflation. The growth rates in Vodacom's International markets are likely to be robust given the outlook for economic growth and low penetration of voice and data services. Over the medium-term (three years) the company aims to deliver low single digit service revenue growth and mid to high single digit EBITDA growth through delivery on their cost efficiency programmes. Vodacom expects capital expenditure to be between 11% and 13% of Group revenue as they sustain a high level of investment in maintaining their network leadership. |
25-Apr-2013
(Media Comment) | According to Business Report, Vodacom emerged as the unexpected winner in the latest reputation survey by Reptrak Pulse, scoring 74.17%. Vodacom beat Old Mutual by an impressive 4.23 percentage points. |
24-Apr-2013
(Official Notice) | Annual results for the year ended 31 March 2013 are expected to be released on or about Monday 20 May 2013. Shareholders are reminded that basic earnings per share (EPS) in the prior year was affected by impairment charges of R199 million in relation to Gateway. The group concluded the disposal of Gateway Carrier Services on 31 August 2012, with the profit on disposal of USD30 million (R223 million) having a favourable impact on EPS for the period.
Both headline earnings per share (HEPS) and basic EPS were favourably impacted by strong underlying core operating performance and the replacement of secondary tax on companies (STC) with dividend withholding tax. The tax expense in the prior year included an STC charge of R806 million. The tax charge in the current year was favourably impacted by the recognition of an additional deferred tax asset in Mozambique, compared to the net derecognition of deferred tax assets in the prior year.
As a result, basic EPS for the year ended 31 March 2013 is expected to be between 25% and 30% higher than the prior year reported EPS of 694 cents per share and HEPS is expected to be between 20% and 25% higher than the prior year reported HEPS of 709 cents per share. |
04-Mar-2013
(Media Comment) | According to Business Report, Vodacom announced a new pricing plan offering customers bundled unlimited voice minutes, SMS and data for a fixed monthly fee. These smart plans are aimed at contract customers and are sold under the portfolio name "Red", mirror the growing alignment of Vodacom with UK-based parent Vodafone and the resulting benefits of the partnership. The proposal acknowledges the increase in smartphone entry into the country and on the group's network, as well as increased data usage. |
06-Feb-2013
(Official Notice) | Salient features
*Group revenue up 1.7%. Excluding the sale of Gateway Carrier Services and the impact of movements in foreign currency, revenue was up 4.8%* (6.7% excluding the impact of mobile termination rates ('MTRs')).
*Group data revenue up 23.3% with active data customers increasing 33.8% to 18.5 million as we continue to drive smartphone penetration with increasing data bundles sold.
*Group active customers increased 12.2% to 51.0 million as we attracted new customers through compelling value offers, superior network quality and network expansion.
*Continued growth from on-going International operations; service revenue up 22.0%* supported by strong customer growth and increased adoption of data services.
*International data revenue growth of 100.0%, led by 72.6% growth in active M-Pesa customers to 4.7 million.
*South African service revenue declined by 1.7% (up 1.4% excluding the impact of MTRs) due to competitive and economic pressures, coupled with a temporary impact from our actions to reduce unprofitable calling card1 SIMs.
*Vodacom extended its LTE coverage in South Africa to reach Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town, with 542 active sites.
Group revenue increased 1.7% to R18.3 billion. Revenue was impacted by the sale of Gateway Carrier Services on 31 August 2012 as well as movements in foreign exchange. On a normalised basis, Group revenue increased 4.8%* due to the growth in data services and International operations, partially offset by the impact of MTR cuts, competitive pricing pressures and continued economic weakness in South Africa. |
12-Nov-2012
(C) | Revenue increased to R34.4 billion (R31.7 billion) and operating profit rose to R9 billion (R7.3 billion). Net profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the company was up at R6 billion (R4.4 billion), while headline earnings per share improved to 396.4cps (323.5cps).
Dividend
Notice is hereby given that a gross interim dividend number 7 of 355cps in respect of financial year ending 31 March 2013 has been declared payable in cash on Monday 3 December 2012.
Outlook
The past six months have been characterised by strong competitive pressure in South Africa. However, through the introduction of targeted promotions and by building on our network advantage we?ve been able to counter this pressure, drive increased usage and deliver overall revenue growth in line with guidance. The data and International operations have both continued to perform well and are an increasingly important component of Group revenue generation. Our guidance that we gave in May 2012 was low single digit service revenue growth, incremental EBITDA margin expansion through operational efficiencies and capital expenditure between 11% and 13% of Group revenue. Based on our solid performance in the first half we are on track to deliver accordingly.
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01-Nov-2012
(Official Notice) | In accordance with paragraph 3.59 of the JSE Listings Requirements, shareholders are advised that as of 31 October 2012, Mr T Harrabin resigned as an alternate director of Vodacom Group. |
22-Oct-2012
(Official Notice) | Interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2012 are expected to be released on or about Monday 12 November 2012. Headline earnings per share ("HEPS") for the six months ended 30 September 2012 is expected to be between 20% to 25% higher than the prior year reported HEPS of 324 cents per share.
Basic earnings per share ("EPS") for the six months ended 30 September 2012 is expected to be between 30% and 40% higher than the prior year reported EPS of 301 cents per share. Shareholders are reminded that EPS in the prior year was affected by impairment charges of R318 million in relation to Gateway. The group concluded the disposal of Gateway Carrier Services on 31 August 2012, the profit of which had a favourable impact on EPS for the period.
Both HEPS and EPS were favourably impacted by strong underlying core operating performance and by the replacement of secondary tax on companies ("STC") with dividend withholding tax, which is not included in the income statement tax expense. STC for the six months ended 30 September 2011 was R417 million. |
06-Sep-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that a number of directorate changes were affected on Thursday, 6 September 2012:
*Mr Paolo Bertoluzzo, non executive director, has taken up a new role as CEO: Southern Europe at Vodafone. In view of this, Paolo will step down from the board.
*Ms Karen Witts, non executive director, will be leaving Vodafone at end September 2012 to take up a position at another FTSE top 100 company as a result she had resigned from the board.
*Ms Serpil Timuray (B Admin) has joined the board.
*Mr John Otty (MA Electronic Engineeering) (ACA) also joined the board.
*As previously reported Mr Pieter Uys, the outgoing CEO stepped down from the board and was replaced by Mr Shameel Aziz-Joosub. |
23-Jul-2012
(Media Comment) | According to Business Day, Vodacom was still in talks to resolve the disagreement with its business partner in its Democratic Republic of Congo joint venture, but the company stressed that it wants to retain its 51% stake in the partnership. If the talks with Congolese Wireless Network are successful, Vodacom could look into raising its stake. If Vodacom raises its stake, it could be done through a capital funding model that will allow for share dilution. |
20-Jul-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that at the seventeenth annual general meeting of Vodacom held on Friday 20 July 2012 the ordinary and special resolutions as set out in the notice of annual general meeting were passed by the requisite majorities. |
19-Jul-2012
(Official Notice) | |
11-Jul-2012
(Official Notice) | At time of the announcement on 14 June 2012 which advised that Mr Sipho Maseko had stepped down from the board, the printing of the 2012 integrated report incorporating a notice of annual general meeting was well advanced.
Shareholders are advised that at the annual general meeting scheduled for Friday 20 July 2012, ordinary resolution number 2 which deals with the election of Mr Maseko as a director will be formally withdrawn. |
05-Jul-2012
(Official Notice) | Vodacom announced the appointment of Shameel Joosub as Vodacom group CE, succeeding Pieter Uys who has decided to step down at the end of March 2013 after almost 20 years with Vodacom, including four years as chief executive. The appointment will take effect from 1 September 2012 to ensure a smooth transition and handover. Shameel Joosub is currently the chief executive of Vodafone Spain. |
20-Jun-2012
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that Vodacom is targeting 25 million data customers by 2014. It added 5 million active data customers in the year to March, with total subscribers now totalling 15 million and "lending credence to our target of 25 million" according to CEO Pieter Uys. Vodacom believes that mobile data is set to play a vital role in lifting economic growth, creating jobs and improving the quality of life in underdeveloped countries. |
18-Jun-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the integrated report for the year ended 31 March 2012 was posted to shareholders today and contains no material changes to the reviewed preliminary results that were announced on SENS on 21 May 2012. The annual consolidated financial statements were audited by Deloitte - Touche and their unqualified audit report is available for inspection at the company's registered office. The integrated report and audited consolidated annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2012 are available at www.vodacom.com. The integrated report incorporates a notice of annual general meeting, which meeting will be held at Vodacom World, 082 Vodacom Boulevard, Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday 20 July 2012 at 11:00 (SA time). |
14-Jun-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that, Mr Sipho Maseko has stepped down from the board with effect from 14 June 2012. |
08-Jun-2012
(Official Notice) | On 31 May 2012, the group entered into an agreement to sell certain investments, supplier agreements and assets of Gateway Carrier Services1, which forms part of Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Ltd., to PCCW Global Ltd. for a cash consideration of USD26.4 million on a cash-free-debt-free basis. The agreement will only become effective following the fulfilment of certain closing conditions set out in the agreement. |
21-May-2012
(C) | Revenue increased to R66.9 billion (R61.2 billion). Operating profit rose to R16.6 billion (R13.7 billion). Net attributable R10.2 billion (R8.2 billion). In addition, headline earnings per share grew to 708.9c (655.5cps).
Dividend
A final ordinary gross dividend of 450cps has been declared.
Outlook
Vodacom's first year of trading as the new red Vodacom has been a big success. The company made good progress on the group's five strategic focus areas and thanks to strong customer additions and significantly higher data usage, the company delivered service revenue growth ahead of "low single digit" guidance.
Looking to the year ahead management expects competition to intensify, particularly in the data business, and consumers to remain under pressure from rising food and fuel prices. Despite these pressures, Vodacom believes that continued improvements in customer proposition, data demand, and continued momentum in our International operations will support growth. The group also expects to deliver further operational efficiencies. Over the medium-term, management is targeting low single digit service revenue growth and steady incremental EBITDA margin improvement (excluding foreign exchange movements).
Management expects to maintain group capital expenditure between 11% and 13% of revenue for the year ending 31 March 2013. The capital expenditure programme will support continued customer demand for data services. Vodacom will focus on transmission, radio access renewal and accelerating the rollout of mobile broadband coverage. |
02-May-2012
(Official Notice) | Annual results for the year ended 31 March 2012 are expected to be released on or about Monday, 21 May 2012. Vodacom delivered a strong performance with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ("EBITDA") growth of approximately 10% for the year ended 31 March 2012. However basic and headline earnings were negatively impacted by:
*an effective tax rate of 36% mainly due to STC on higher dividends paid and the movement in net deferred tax assets derecognised; and
*higher depreciation and amortisation from higher capital expenditure including non cash capital additions.
Headline earnings per share ("HEPS") for the year ended 31 March 2012 is expected to be between 5% and 10% higher than the prior year reported HEPS of 656 cents per share. Basic earnings per share ("EPS") for the year ended 31 March 2012 is expected to be between 20% and 25% higher than the prior year reported EPS of 561 cents per share as a result of the high impairment charges impacting the prior year EPS. Non-cash capital additions relate to the exchange on non monetary assets for the radio access network renewal programmes as well as finance leases entered into for the self-provisioning of transmission. |
17-Apr-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the designation of Mr Sipho Maseko, an executive director, has changed with immediate effect to group chief operating officer for Vodacom. Mr Maseko retains his role managing Vodacom South Africa. |
08-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | |
18-Nov-2011
(Media Comment) | According to Business Report, Vodacom can go ahead with the disposal of its stake in a cellphone venture in the Democratic Republic of Congo after its minority partner, Congolese Wireless Network ("CWN"), withdrew a lawsuit preventing the sale. CWN owns 49% of Vodacom Congo. |
08-Nov-2011
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that Vodacom is pursuing small to medium acquisitions in countries closer to where it already has a presence to bolster its operations outside SA, which have bounced back following a disappointing performance in 2010. In the absence of acquisitions, Vodacom has been paying handsome dividends to shareholders, and announced with its latest set of results that it would pay shareholders R3.9 billion in dividends. Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys commented that price expectations were becoming "more realistic" and chances of getting something were better. "We are not looking at big acquisitions. We are interested in value-added acquisitions," he said. |
07-Nov-2011
(C) | Revenue increased to R31.7 billion (R29.5 billion) and operating profit rose to R7.3 billion (R7.1 billion). Net profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the company was stable around R4.4 billion (R4.4 billion), while headline earnings per share improved to 323.5cps (303.2cps).
Dividend
Notice was given that interim dividend number 5 of 260cps in respect of the financial year ending 31 March 2012 has been declared payable on Monday 5 December 2011.
Outlook
The company's medium-term guidance remains unchanged. Although service revenue growth for the first half was ahead of the company's "low single digit" guidance it is expected that growth will be slow in the second half as a result of further pressure in both voice and data prices. The company's continued focus on cost efficiency is delivering results, with notable successes in managing acquisition and retention costs in the first six months. The EBITDA margin, excluding foreign exchange movements, for the year ending March 2012 is expected to improve from 2011 4. While capital expenditure is expected to accelerate in the second half and the full year forecast of R7.7 billion remains unchanged. |
04-Nov-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised of the following changes to the Board of Vodacom Group:
*In light of his other commitments, Mr Tom Boardman stepped down from the board with effect from 30 October 2011.
*Mr Morten Lundal stepped down from the board with effect from 3 November 2011 and has been replaced by Ms Karen Witts (MA, ACA (UK)) with effect from 4 November 2011.
In March 2012, Mr Rob Shuter, CFO and Executive Director of Vodacom Group will be seconded to Vodafone and will be taking up the post of CEO of Vodafone Netherlands. As a result, Rob will step down from the board of Vodacom at that time. A process has been initiated to identify Tom's and Rob's replacement at Vodacom Group. |
04-Aug-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that at the sixteenth annual general meeting of Vodacom Group held today, the ordinary and special resolutions as set out in the notice of annual general meeting were passed by the requisite majorities. |
21-Jul-2011
(Official Notice) | |
11-Jul-2011
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that, ratings from Standard - Poor's (S-P) said on Friday it had assigned its South African national scale long-term rating of zaAA and short term rating of zaA-1 to Vodacom Group for its strong financial performance. The ratings show Vodacom's capacity to meet specific financial obligations. "The ratings on Vodacom are supported by our assessment of the group's business risk profile as 'satisfactory', thanks to its resilient and strong position in South African mobile telephony, where it is the leading operator in a maturing market, " S-P said. However, S-P cautioned that the ratings could be constrained by increasing competition and regulatory pressure over the next three years in South Africa, and continuing requirements for sizeable infrastructure investment. "In addition, growing exposure to higher than average political, operational, and currency risk in the countries in which Vodacom operates outside SA also constrain the group's credit quality, in our view", it said. |
01-Jul-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the integrated report and consolidated audited annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011 were, due to the volume, posted to shareholders over two days, yesterday and today and contains no material changes to the reviewed preliminary results that were announced on SENS and published in the press on 16 May 2011 and 17 May 2011 respectively.
The consolidated audited annual financial statements incorporate a notice of annual general meeting, which meeting will be held in Talk 200, Vodacom World, 082 Vodacom Boulevard, Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday 4 August 2011 at 11:00 (SA time). The integrated report and consolidated audited annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011 are available at www.vodacom.com
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31-May-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that Mr Sipho Maseko (BA, LLB) has been appointed as managing director of Vodacom (Pty) Ltd ("Vodacom SA") and as an executive director of Vodacom Group. He is expected to join the group on or about 1 September 2011. |
17-May-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that as of 31 January 2011, Mr HM Mahmoud was no longer an alternate director of Vodacom. |
17-May-2011
(Media Comment) | According to Business Report, Vodacom announced that it has committed R7.7 billion to capital expenditure in the new year, an increase of 22%, to accelerate the roll-out of its cellular broadband coverage. Pieter Uys, Vodacom's chief executive, announced that the company aimed to almost triple data users on its network from 9 million at its latest count to 25 million users over the next two years. Data services form the next frontier of competition among cellphone providers as opportunities for growth in a saturating voice market are declining. |
16-May-2011
(C) | Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2011 increased to R61.2 billion (2010: R58.5 billion). Operating profit rose to R13.7 billion (2010: R11.2 billion), while profit attributable to equity shareholders improved to R8.2 billion (2010: R4.2 billion). Furthermore, headline earnings per share strengthened to 655.5cps (2010: 509.9cps).
Dividend
Notice was given that final dividend number 4 of 280cps in respect of the financial year ended 31 March 2011 was declared.
Outlook
This has been a positive year in which good progress was made on the group's strategic objectives, particularly driving growth in data, and the results were in-line with our medium-term guidance. The changes instituted in the latter half of the year, culminating in the brand refresh, have placed Vodacom in a unique position to capitalise on the changing mobile communications landscape. By integrating sustainability issues and encompassing the concerns of all stakeholders into our strategic process, we have identified five clear focus areas for the year ahead:
* Grow passionate promoters through dramatically improving customer experience.
* Actively create an environment for our employees to excel and grow.
* Put the power of the internet into people's hands.
* Together drive operational excellence.
* Proactively partner with our stakeholders.
Looking to next year, the group expects competition to remain intense and customer spend to be under pressure from rising food and fuel prices, however, medium-term guidance remains unchanged. The approved capital expenditure budget for fiscal period 2012 is R7.7 billion. Vodacom's capital expenditure programme will focus on accelerating the rollout of mobile broadband coverage and self-provisioning of transmission to improve the quality of service. This will support continued growth in demand for data services. |
12-May-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that Ms Albertinah Kekana (BComm, CA (SA) has been appointed as an independent non executive director of the company with effect from 12 May 2011. |
28-Apr-2011
(Official Notice) | Annual results for the year ended 31 March 2011 are expected to be released on or about Monday 16 May 2011. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year ended 31 March 2011 are expected to be between 25% and 30% higher than the prior year reported HEPS of 510 cents per share. Shareholders are reminded that basic earnings per share (`EPS`) in the prior year were impacted by net impairment charges of R3.4 billion. Vodacom expects to recognise impairment losses of approximately R1.5 billion for the year ended 31 March 2011, in relation to Gateway as a result of increased price competition and poorer trading trends. EPS for the year ended 31 March 2011 are therefore expected to be between 95% and 105% higher than the prior year reported EPS of 282 cents per share. |
22-Mar-2011
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that Vodacom will unveil a new management and operational structure next month after the completion of its restructuring, which includes a R200 million rebranding exercise. However, according to company resources, the restructuring was designed to identify operational redundancies and consolidate some functions which may lead to retrenchments. Vodacom had invited the Communications Workers union for consultations this week on its "customer care operation model 2011". Vodacom spokesman Richard Boorman commented: "As far as I am aware, the management changes communicated to staff this past week will not result in any retrenchments." |
02-Feb-2011
(Official Notice) | |
23 Dec 2010 10:03:27
(Official Notice) | In accordance with paragraph 3.59 of the JSE Listings Requirements, shareholders are advised that with effect from 1 April 2011, Mr Shameel Aziz Joosub, executive director of Vodacom Group and managing director of Vodacom (Pty) Ltd ("Vodacom SA") will be taking up the post as CEO of Vodafone Spain, one of Vodafone's largest operating companies. In view of this well deserved promotion, Shameel will step down from the board of Vodacom Group and resign as managing director of Vodacom SA at end March 2011. A process has been initiated to identify Shameel`s replacement at Vodacom SA.
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22 Dec 2010 12:17:53
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that Vodacom Group's wholly-owned subsidiary, Vodacom International Limited, which holds 51% of Vodacom Congo SPRL has agreed with Congolese Wireless Network SPRL ("CWN"), the holder of the other 49% of Vodacom Congo SPRL, to appoint NM Rothschild - Sons (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd to explore options for the Vodacom Congo SPRL business.
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09 Nov 2010 09:07:34
(Media Comment) | According to Business Day, Vodacom is still planning to grow its footprint with selective expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. Vodacom Group CEO Pieter Uys announced that although there had been limited opportunities to expand into other parts of the continent, Vodacom still had the appetite to seek acquisitions. "We are still looking, but we wanted to fix our (rest of Africa) operations first," he said. The group operates in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Lesotho. The operations have struggled in the past 12 to 18 months because of increased competition. Mr Uys told Bloomberg that Vodacom is interested in Angola, Malawi and Ethiopia. Vodacom was also in talks to share infrastructure with it competitors at operations in the rest of Africa. |
08 Nov 2010 08:08:28
(C) | Revenue increased to R29.5 billion from R28.7 billion. Operating profit increased to R7.1 billion (September 2009:R3.7 billion). Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders increased to R4.4 billion (September 2009:R61 million). The group reported headline earnings per share of 303.2cps (September 2009: 218.7cps).
Dividend
An interim dividend of 180cps was declared for the period under review.
Outlook
While the macro economic climate is stable and there are positive signs in most of the countries in which Vodacom operates, markets are expected to remain challenging primarily due to ongoing competitive and regulatory pressures. In October 2010, the fourth mobile operator launched service in South Africa and the regulator announced further cuts in MTRs effective from 1 March 2011. Increased voice usage and continued growth in data demand are expected to largely offset these pressures. The cost reduction programme is progressing well, with notable successes in managing customer acquisition and distribution costs in the past six months. While capital expenditure is expected to accelerate in the second half, full year forecast capital expenditure is expected to be lower at R6.8 billion due to efficiencies on budgeted spend and the favourable foreign exchange rates compared to budget. |
05 Nov 2010 15:03:45
(Official Notice) | In accordance with paragraph 3.59 of the JSE Listings Requirements, shareholders are advised that in view of her additional responsibilities since being appointed as CEO of the Shanduka Group, Ms Phuti Malabie has resigned from the Vodacom Group board with immediate effect. |
19 Oct 2010 11:33:47
(Official Notice) | Shareholders of Vodacom are reminded that headline earnings per share ("HEPS") reported for the six months ended 30 September 2009 of 219 cents per share were impacted by 52 cents per share in respect of losses on the remeasurement of financial instruments and the reversal of a deferred taxation asset. Earnings per share ("EPS") reported for the six months ended 30 September 2009 of 4 cents per share were impacted by 215 cents per share mainly in respect of impairment losses. HEPS and EPS for the six months ended 30 September 2010 are both expected to be between 285 cents per share and 307 cents per share. Interim results for the six months ended 30 September are expected to be released on or about Monday 8 November 2010. |
15 Sep 2010 10:23:58
(Official Notice) | Mr Richard Snow has resigned from the board of Vodacom with effect from 13 September 2010 and has been replaced by Mr Nick Read. |
30 Jul 2010 13:01:15
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that at the fifteenth annual general meeting of Vodacom Group held on 30 July 2010, the ordinary resolutions and special resolution as set out in the notice of annual general meeting were passed by the requisite majorities. |
22 Jul 2010 08:10:32
(Official Notice) | Key highlights
Robust South African performance
*Service revenue up 4.4% (8.2% excluding the MTR impact)
*15.7% increase in the contract customer base
*Prepaid customer growth impacted by a change in the disconnection policy and RICA.
Excellent progress in mobile broadband
*43.2% growth in group data revenue to R1 350 million (33.9% excluding rule change).
*54.5% increase in South African data traffic.
*Continued investment in mobile broadband and fibre networks
International operations slowly recovering
*Almost one million net customer additions.
*Revenue in constant currency stable on prior year.
Group revenue and service revenue for the three months ended 30 June 2010 increased in constant currency by 3.0% and 3.1% respectively, with continued robust performance in South Africa and a 43.2% growth in group data revenue. The South African rand strengthened against all the other functional currencies in the international operations, resulting in lower reported group revenue growth of 0.7% and service revenue growth of 0.6%. The South African mobile operations contributed 87.2% (March 2010: 87.4%) of group revenue. Group customers increased 1.1 million in the quarter, excluding the reduction of 3.3 million call-forward SIMs in South Africa on 1 April 2010, as discussed below, resulting in total group mobile customers of 37.7 million at 30 June 2010. The South African mobile operations contributed 61.4% (March 2010: 65.8%) of group total mobile customers at 30 June 2010. |
13 Jul 2010 09:01:33
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that Vodacom experienced a 40% rise over its regular network traffic from the start of the World Cup tournament until the semifinals. Vodacom said about 600 million SMSs were sent and in some cases a single base station experienced a more than 500% increase in traffic. |
30 Jun 2010 17:37:10
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the company's 2010 annual report, incorporating the audited annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2010 was posted to shareholders today and contains no material changes to the reviewed preliminary results that were announced on SENS and published in the press on 17 May 2010 and 18 May 2010 respectively. The 2010 annual report incorporates a notice of annual general meeting, which meeting will be held in the Bytes Conference Centre, Bytes Business Park, Block C, 241 Third Road, Halfway Gardens, Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday 30 July 2009 at 11:00 (SA time). |
17 May 2010 08:59:08
(C) | |
21 Apr 2010 14:50:50
(Official Notice) | Headline earnings per share ("HEPS") for the year ended 31 March 2010 are expected to be between 20% and 25% higher, compared to HEPS of 417 cents for the year ended 31 March 2009. Headline earnings growth was favourably impacted by the broad-based black economic empowerment ("BBBEE") charge of R1 315 million in the prior year. However, this was partially offset by losses on the remeasurement of financial instruments and the reversal of a deferred taxation asset of approximately R500 million largely recognised and reported on in the six months results to 30 September 2009. The main difference between basic earnings and headline earnings is the impairment of goodwill. Basic earnings per share ("EPS") for the year ended 31 March 2010 are expected to be between 25% and 35% lower compared to the EPS of 409 cents for the year ended 31 March 2009, mainly as a result of the Gateway impairment recognised and reported on in the six months results to 30 September 2009. |
20 Apr 2010 09:41:06
(Media Comment) | Vodacom isn't resting on it's market share and this month has introduced new pricing, free minutes and other competitive strategies while rivals take strain. Vodacom is launching Metro Ethernet which is supported by the lastest in fibre optic solutions, "says Ermano Quartero, managing executive of products and services at Vodacom Business."With Metro E our clients have access to superfast, always-reliable bandwidth delivered directly to their doorstep. |
06 Apr 2010 09:03:55
(Media Comment) | According to Business Report, Vodacom's joint venture in the DRC, Vodacom Congo, may be terminated if differences cannot be patched up with its 49% partner, Congolese Wireless Network ("CWN"). CWN would like to acquire Vodacom's 51% stake in the joint venture. However, Vodacom has indicated that it is not a seller and intends to remain in the DRC. The two companies will meet on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, to discuss the way forward. |
29 Mar 2010 13:44:26
(Official Notice) | Vodacom shareholders are hereby advised of the outcome of the odd-lot offer and specific offer to repurchase shares, both of which closed on Friday 26 March 2010. The odd-lot offer was successful. |
04 Mar 2010 17:49:54
(Official Notice) | Vodacom shareholders were advised that the necessary special resolution relating to the specific authority to repurchase shares and the ordinary resolution to make and implement an odd-lot offer were approved by the requisite majorities at a general meeting of shareholders held on Thursday 4 March 2010. |
22 Feb 2010 11:06:17
(Media Comment) | According to The Sunday Times Business Times, Vodacom's directors were kept in the dark about the secret "consulting deal" that former CE Alan Knott-Craig made with the company. One director, speaking anonymously, said he felt the board should have been told about any deal. However, corporate affairs director, Bob Collymore, said that directors appointed after the deal was struck did not need to know because 'they weren't directors at the time." Vodacom made the deal with Knott-Craig to prevent him from being hired by Telkom SA Ltd to start its cellular business. Knott-Craig is also said to have done very little in the way of consulting for Vodacom since the deal was struck in March 2009. |
10 Feb 2010 11:20:26
(Official Notice) | |
08 Feb 2010 09:12:30
(Media Comment) | Sunday Times reported that Vodacom's CEO faces headaches on several fronts. Since the new year CEO Pieter Uys has faced shareholder dissent in the DRC, ongoing issues with groups regulator Icasa and Rica, and damaging reports relating to the tenure of former CEO Alan Knott-Craig. A trading update released indicated that while revenue improved in the quarter to end December, economic conditions and new regulations have made life tough at Vodacom. Uys was quoted as saying Vodacom are at a point where things are about to turn. Looking ahead to the rest of the year , Uys remains cautious.
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02 Feb 2010 09:29:49
(Media Comment) | Vodacom business looked to steal a march on internet provider rivals yesterday by halving it's rates for broadband connectivity, a cut made possible by last year's Seacom fibreoptic cable launch.
Managing executive Ermano Quartero said business clients would now pay on average half the previous rate for their broadband use, although some large companies could save even more. He expected most customers to increase their bandwidth allowances in response to the cut, effective from this month.
RMB Asset Management analyst Myuran Rajaratnam expected MTN and Telkom to respond to the "massive drop" with similar cuts. "It will be something of a race to the bottom, and the winner will be the consumer".
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02 Feb 2010 08:02:08
(Official Notice) | |
22 Jan 2010 09:13:56
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that the Communications Workers Union (CWU) yesterday called on communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda to set up an independent commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption at Vodacom. Former Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig is alleged to have abused his position to set up members of his family in business. The allegations were first made in 2008, at a time when the state held an interest in Vodacom through Telkom's 50% shareholding. Vodacom's management is under pressure to release a report by KPMG which looked into allegations against Knott-Craig. Vodacom claims the report is only in possession of former shareholders Vodafone and Telkom. CWU general secretary Gallant Roberts suggested "there is no way one single person could have committed these offences all by himself". He called for a further investigation to establish if other members of management were also involved. |
19 Jan 2010 09:48:07
(Media Comment) | Business Report noted that Alan Knott-Craig, Vodacom's former CE, has been cleared by shareholders after they investigated allegations made against him by "disgruntled" employees. Knott-Craig has said that he is "fully satisfied that I've done wrong, and have acted properly at all times." |
11 Jan 2010 09:20:39
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that Vodacom's minority partner, Congolese Wireless Networks (CWN), in the Democratic Republic of Congo has stepped up pressure on the group to recover fees of USD180 million, and said it was even prepared to have Vodacom Congo sold to another operator if attempts to a solution failed. CWN chairman Alieu Conteh, issued a statement in which he had filed a lawsuit accusing Vodacom of "persistently abusing" its position as the lead partner in the joint venture launched in May 2002.
Conteh said that Vodacom had financed the network with expensive loans, which had resulted in overpayment to Vodacom International of up to USD180 million. Asked to comment on claims by Vodacom that CWN had asked that the group continue funding the network, Conteh replied that he had not asked for a cent, but that the group should return some fees under dispute. Vodacom said, it would not add to the statement issued early last week, in which it pledged to defend its shareholders in court if forced to do so. |
07 Jan 2010 08:31:14
(Media Comment) | The outbreak of open hospitalities between Vodacom and it's partner in the Democratic Republic of Congo could threaten Vodacom's plans to counter sluggish growth in South Africa by beefing up it's African Investments. According to website Techcentral, Congolese Wireless Network, which is Vodacom's partner in the DRC, has accused Vodacom of "fraud and swindling, abuse of trust, and usury". The allegations are contained in legal papers, dated December 15. Techcentral said it was unclear whether the papers had been lodged with the courts in Kinshasa. |
10 Dec 2009 08:48:14
(Media Comment) | A fight is brewing between MTN and Vodacom over R30 million tender to provide the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality with voice and data services. MTN has been awarded the two-year tender, which was previously held by Vodacom. However, Vodacom is claiming that there were irregularities with the awarding of the tender and wants it to be reviewed. |
03 Dec 2009 12:06:29
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that Mr Paolo Bertoluzzo has been appointed to the Board of Vodacom group with effect from 15 January 2010. He replaces Mr James Maclaurin, who as previously advised, steps down from the board on 15 January 2010 |
13 Nov 2009 07:46:00
(Official Notice) | The Minister of Communication announced this afternoon that Vodacom, MTN and Cell C have agreed a reduction in mobile termination rates ("MTRs") that will be submitted to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Peak rates will reduce from R1.25 to R0.89. Off peak rates will not change. The revised rates will be effective in February 2010. |
09 Nov 2009 10:25:22
(C) | Revenue increased to R28.6 billion from R26.1 billion. Operating profit decreased to R3.5 billion (2008:R6.4 billion). Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders decreased to R61 million (2008:R3.6 billion). The group reported headline earnings on a per share basis of 219.0cps (2008:250.0cps).
Dividends per share
An interim dividend of 110.0cps was declared for the period under review.
Outlook
While the macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain, South Africa is showing early signs of recovery based on some indicators of customer behaviour. However, it is too soon to be confident in a sustained recovery across all customer segments. The South African business is likely to continue to feel the impact of the implementation of RICA, but as distributors and customers grow more familiar with customer registration requirements, gross connections are expected to trend upward. Lower mobile termination rates are a likely consequence of the regulatory process currently underway, and the group will work with government and the regulator to implement the reductions in a way that will minimise instability in the sector.
In the international operations, traffic volumes have picked up slightly in both Tanzania and DRC in response to significant price reductions. Management will prioritise reducing costs and increasing capital efficiencies to support lower tariffs over the longer term. Notwithstanding its economic and competitive challenges, Gateway remains core to Vodacom's expansion strategy in Africa, both in delivering business services and in broadband infrastructure. Progress is being made in restructuring the carrier services business to ensure it can be sustainably profitable in an environment of reduced mobile tariffs on the continent, but in the short-term Gateway's profitability is expected to remain under pressure.
Vodacom will continue to implement projects to extract efficiencies and ensure cost leadership across the business. Vodacom's group capital expenditure is expected to be R7.0 billion for the year ending 31 March 2010. Vodacom is focused on broadening access to voice and data communications, and extending the socioeconomic development benefits of affordable world-class communications. This will remain a priority in the markets in which Vodacom operates as the global economy continues its recovery. |
27 Oct 2009 14:01:45
(Official Notice) | The South African Government has appointed Mr Jabu Moleketi to act as its nominee on the board of Vodacom with effect from 1 November 2009. This is in line with the Regulatory Agreement entered into between the South African Government and the Vodafone Group in November 2008, the details of which were disclosed in Vodacom's pre-listing statement dated 2 March 2009. |
23 Oct 2009 17:11:53
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that insofar as interconnection rates are concerned, Vodacom (Pty) Ltd ("Vodacom SA") has been conducting bilateral discussions with other mobile operators to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that will be mutually sustainable to all parties. The bilateral negotiations, which have taken place under the regulations of ICASA has resulted in an agreement being reached between Vodacom SA and MTN. This agreement proposes a blended interconnection rate of R0.78, which declines to R0.61 on a glide path. Unfortunately Vodacom SA has been unable to reach agreement with Cell C who has insisted on an asymmetric approach. Vodacom SA does not believe that Cell C is a new entrant to the market and therefore does not support Cell C's assertion. However, Vodacom SA continues to support the process and trusts that an agreement will be reached shortly. |
20 Oct 2009 09:05:56
(Official Notice) | Vodacom group is in the process of finalising its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2009, which are expected to be released on or about Monday 9 November 2009.
Notwithstanding the more difficult trading conditions, particularly in the international operations, Vodacom group is encouraged by its core operating performance and expects group revenue growth of approximately 10% and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of approximately 8% for the six months ended 30 September 2009, compared to the six months ended 30 September 2008. Despite this satisfactory operating performance, headline earnings have been affected by higher finance charges and losses on the remeasurement of financial instruments. Furthermore, headline earnings were also impacted by the reversal of a deferred taxation asset of approximately R500 million due to the reduced profitability of Vodacom DRC arising from weak macroeconomic trading conditions in that country. Taking these factors into account, HEPS for the six months ended 30 September 2009 are expected to be between 10% and 20% lower for the six months ended 30 September 2009, compared to the HEPS for the six months ended 30 September 2008. |
20 Oct 2009 07:51:42
(Media Comment) | Vodacom and its rival, MTN Group Ltd ("MTN"), denied allegations of anticompetitive behaviour despite reports that the Competition Commission was widening its probe to include collusion. A Vodacom spokesman told Business Day that "Vodacom is not involved in anticompetitive behaviour." The government is concerned about interconnection fees charged by South Africa's three cellular operators. |
29 Sep 2009 11:59:48
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that Mr James Maclaurin has given notice that he will be leaving the Vodafone Group with effect from 15 January 2010 and as such will step down from the Vodacom Group board on the same date. |
22 Sep 2009 09:38:17
(Media Comment) | Vodacom CEO, Pieter Uys, wrote in the Sunday Times Business Times that the group is not opposed to reducing mobile termination rates and agrees that the rate should be reviewed, but said Vodacom cannot cut unilaterally as this would gives its competitors an advantage. Uys also said that costs are cheaper in countries such as India, but this is because their cellphone network covers mainly urban areas, whereas in South Africa coverage amounts to 98%, and as a result 110% cell phone penetration has been achieved. Vodacom's costs will be lower once its own transmission infrastructure is up and running and customers will benefit from this in the future, according to Uys. |
31 Jul 2009 13:32:12
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that at the fourteenth annual general meeting of Vodacom Group held today, the ordinary resolutions and special resolution as set out in the notice of annual general meeting were passed by the requisite majorities. The special resolution will be lodged with the registrar of companies for registration. |
24 Jul 2009 12:13:32
(Media Comment) | Finweek noted that Vodacom could face some interesting questions at its first annual general meeting. One of the questions that could be asked is why Vodacom SA is subsidising the group's international operations. The group's R12 billion operating profit was made entirely by Vodacom SA, but Vodacom spent 37% of its R6.9 billion capital expenditure on its international operations. |
22 Jul 2009 17:30:01
(Official Notice) | Group mobile customers increased 19.5% from the prior year quarter to 41.3 million at 30 June 2009. The South African mobile operations contributed 69.6% (31 March 2009: 69.7%) of group total mobile customers and the international mobile operations 30.4% (31 March 2009: 30.3%) at 30 June 2009. Vodacom revenue for the three months ended 30 June 2009 rose 12.2% to R14.2 billion compared to the same quarter last year. The increase was as a result of organic revenue growth of 5.9% and Gateway contributing approximately R800 million in the quarter. |
30 Jun 2009 17:37:47
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the company's 2009 annual report, incorporating the audited annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2009 was posted to shareholders and contains no material changes to the reviewed preliminary results that were announced on SENS and published in the press on 14 May 2009 and 15 May 2009 respectively. The 2009 annual report incorporates a notice of annual general meeting, which meeting will be held in the Dome, Vodaworld, 082 Vodacom Boulevard, Vodavalley, Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday 31 July 2009 at 10:00 (SA time). |
12 Jun 2009 14:52:50
(Official Notice) | Vodacom Group announced the appointment of Mr Rob Shuter CA (SA) as CFO of the group and director of the board with effect from 1 July 2009. Rob is a Chartered Accountant with over 17 years senior financial experience. He spent 9 years with the Nedbank Group holding various director positions, latterly as managing director of Nedbank Retail. He was formerly the COO of Computer Configurations Holdings and Head of Investment Banking at Standard Corporate - Merchant bank. In addition to core financial functions, Rob will also assume responsibility for company secretarial, investor relations, internal audit and business development. |
05 Jun 2009 09:06:57
(Media Comment) | Business Report noted that Cosatu has decided to end its boycott of Vodacom because it will be a difficult campaign to sustain. Cosatu general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, said that the proposal was discussed at a meeting, but in the end the decision was made to abandon the action. Cosatu was upset over the listing and sale of shares in Vodacom to the UK's Vodafone. |
21 May 2009 11:14:58
(Media Comment) | The independent communications authority of SA (Icasa) was unlikely to continue with next month's public hearings over Telkom's disposal of it's 50% stake in Vodacom, a source close to the regulator said yesterday. This comes after Icasa failed this week to block the listing of Vodacom on the JSE.Icasa pulled an embarrassing move over the weekend that raised questions about it's competence and independence. On Friday the regulator reversed the decision it took last month to approve the transaction. It then partnered with Cosatu to apply for an urgent court interdict to block Vodacom from listing until Telkom received an approval from the regulator. But the pair failed dismally.
Dobek Pater, a telecoms analyst at Africa Analysis, said it appeared that some officials did not do their job properly in the first place. "A transaction of this nature should have taken priority and Icasa should have properly consulted rather than make a spontaneous decision," he said. Goldstuck said Cosatu and Icasa should rather protest about Telkom's lack of delivery and high interconnection fees, which is the money that operators pay to route calls on each other's network. |
19 May 2009 14:34:07
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that Vodacom had a successful debut on the JSE, despite a last-minute attempt by Cosatu to stop the listing from going ahead. The stock opened at R59.50 , and peaked at R64.95, valuing Vodacom at R96.5 billion. 9.4 million shares changed hands over the course of the day, in deals worth a combined R571 million. |
19 May 2009 11:47:58
(C) | Revenue increased from R48.2 billion to R55.2 billion in 2009.Operating profit decreased to R12.0 billion (2008:R12.4 billion). Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders decreased to R6.1 billion (R7.8 billion). The group reported headline earnings on a per share basis of 417.40cps.
Dividends per share
The final dividend of 349.50cps was declared and paid before the group listed.
Outlook
In South Africa lower interest rates, inflation and fuel prices have provided some relief to consumers. The deterioration in global macroeconomic conditions is expected to deepen further the negative impact on the business segment as well as result in increased unemployment. As customers continue to contain their spending, the group will seek to offer them greater value. To further mitigate the pressure on top-line growth and preserve margins, greater operational efficiencies will be driven across the business. Trading conditions are expected to remain challenging for the international operations, with economic weakness persisting particularly in the DRC and aggressive competition in all the markets. Vodacom will ensure it remains competitive and efficient to mitigate the pressures. Vodacom group will continue to invest to position the group for growth in the sub-Saharan African communications markets, which remain among the fastest growing in the world. Vodacom group's capital expenditure is expected to be R8.0 billion for the year ended 31 March 2010. The group's strong cash flow and balance sheet will provide the flexibility both to invest prudently in strategic growth opportunities and to return cash to shareholders on a sustainable basis. |
18 May 2009 09:00:58
(Official Notice) | Vodacom confirms that it will list and commence trading on the JSE Ltd at 09:00 (SA time) on Monday, 18 May 2009. The Congress of South African Trade Unions ("COSATU") and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa ("ICASA") were unsuccessful, on Sunday, 17 May 2009, in obtaining an interim court interdict preventing Vodacom's listing from proceeding.
As has been reported in the press, COSATU has instituted a court action against ICASA challenging the decision of ICASA not to require Vodacom (Pty) Ltd to seek ICASA's approval in respect of the sale of shares in Vodacom Group by Telkom SA Ltd to Vodafone Holdings (SA) (Pty) Ltd, the Vodacom listing and other related inter-conditional transactions (the "transactions") and hence the validity of the transactions. Vodacom and its subsidiary, Vodacom (Pty) Ltd, are named as respondents in that action. Vodacom will oppose this court action.
Vodacom received a letter from ICASA on Friday, 15 May 2009 purporting to rescind its previous decision that the transactions only required notification rather than prior approval from ICASA and stating that a public consultation process will take place. Vodacom continues to believe that only a notification of the transactions to ICASA was required. Vodacom will release its results for the year ended 31 March 2009 on SENS before 09:00 (SA time) on Tuesday, 19 May 2009. |
06-Mar-2013
(X) | Vodacom is an African mobile communications company providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 50 million customers. From their roots in South Africa, they have grown their operations to include networks in Tanzania, the DRC, Mozambique and Lesotho. Vodacom is majority owned by Vodafone (65% holding) one of the world?s largest mobile communications companies by revenue. Vodafone brings a wealth of benefits in terms of purchasing power, technical and operating knowledge transfer, benchmarking, consultant services and skills development. Vodacom is listed on the JSE Limited and their head office is Johannesburg, South Africa. Vodacom employs approximately 7 200 people. |
