Vodafone Egypt has acquired a 5G license for $150 million and extended its existing spectrum licenses by five years, securing these rights through 2039 at an additional cost of $17 million. These fees will be paid in the second half of the financial year, as confirmed in Vodacom Group’s recent interim results release for the six months ending September 30, 2024.
The 5G licence was officially granted on October 7 by Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, represented by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Egypt has emerged as a pivotal market for Vodacom Group, which operates across multiple African countries, including South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia.
During the reporting period, Vodafone Egypt’s performance underscored its strategic importance within the Vodacom Group, contributing R13.0 billion to Group service revenue—22.1% of the total. Local currency service revenue rose by 44.1%, with a slight increase to 44.4% in the second quarter.
Strong Growth Driven by Connectivity and Financial Services
Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub, attributed this growth to high levels of customer engagement in connectivity and notable expansion in Vodafone Cash, Egypt’s financial platform modeled on M-PESA. Vodafone Cash serves approximately 3 million customers with services ranging from peer-to-peer money transfers and payments to savings and microloans.
“Egypt reached a milestone of 50 million customers, with average revenue per user increasing by 34.6%, bolstered by our extensive data analytics capabilities,” Joosub said. Data traffic climbed 32%, supported by a 9.6% increase in data customers to 30.9 million. The use of smartphones on the network rose 10.8%, driving a 46.9% growth in mobile data revenue in the second quarter.
Financial services revenue in Egypt grew to R1.0 billion (EGP 2.6 billion), representing 7.6% of total service revenue. Vodafone Cash saw a 94.5% increase in local currency revenue, driven by 43.1% growth in its user base, now at 9.6 million. Egypt contributed R6.2 billion to Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), accounting for 23.4% of total EBITDA.
The reported EBITDA margin rose to 43.4%, supported by strong cost management in an inflationary environment. Adjusted for currency impacts, the margin was 45.1%, with operating profit growth reaching 78.1% in local currency.
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Vodafone Egypt invested $125 million (R2.2 billion) during the period, reflecting a capital intensity ratio of 15.7%. “We continued to deploy 2,600 MHz spectrum and roll out new sites. Post-period, we announced a $150 million investment for a 5G licence and extended our existing spectrum licences to 2039 at a cost of $17 million,” Joosub added.
Vodafone Egypt maintains a strong presence in the North African market with a 43% revenue market share and 43 million consumer and enterprise customers. Major telecom players in Egypt include Telecom Egypt, Orange, Etisalat Egypt, and Ericsson
