Vodacom, which reported a 6 percent rise in first-half profit, has been helped by increasing revenue from mobile data, which is seen as a major growth driver in developing Africa.
The telecom has also been targeting much-needed growth outside South Africa. While it has the largest market share at home, Vodacom is dwarfed elsewhere on the continent by rival MTN Group .
But even fast-growing Africa is not immune to the global downturn, and Vodacom said it expects growth to slow in the second half, as competition puts pressure on prices, and customers spend less.
“We are concerned about the state of the consumer and we believe that may work its way through into our numbers,” Chief Financial Officer Rob Shuter said.
Data revenue increased by 31 percent in the six months to end-September, Vodacom said in a statement. Customers increased by more than 20 percent in both South Africa and its international businesses.
Outside of South Africa, 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.
“They are continuing to do better than their competitors in the data space. Certainly, from a shareholder’s perspective, Vodacom’s data strategy seems to be the most effective,” said David Lerche, an analyst at Avior Research.
“Growth is likely to slow ... but I wouldn’t be too worried, I don’t see it falling off a cliff.”
Vodacom is looking for further expansion in Africa, albeit on a small scale and, ideally, in countries adjacent to existing operations, CFO Shuter said.
“We do think there are acquisition opportunities for us. In the medium-term they look to be relatively modest in size,” he said.
“A country like Malawi, like a few other countries, would be an attractive destination for us.”
Malawi’s Daily Times newspaper reported in September that Vodacom was in talks to buy a stake in local operator Telekom Networks Malawi Ltd.
Diluted headline earnings per share totalled 322.3 cents in the six months to end-September, compared with 303 cents a year earlier.
Revenue totalled 31.75 billion rand ($4 billion) compared with 29.52 billion a year earlier.
The company also hiked its first-half dividend to 260 cents from 180 cents.
Vodacom’s shares are up nearly 17 percent so far this year, outperforming a flat Top-40 index.