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# Vodacom posts one of its strongest half-years ever, but a Kenyan court ruling could cost it Safaricom
- URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/vodacom-strongest-half-year-kenyan-ruling-safaricom/
- Published: 2026-11-12T03:15:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-12T03:15:00.000Z
- Description: Revenue jumped 25.6% to R102.5 billion on the back of Safaricom, but a Kenyan court has declared part of that stake void.
- Author: Christian Maidman
- Tags: Companies, Business Bagel News

Vodacom has delivered one of its strongest half-years to date, but a court ruling in Kenya threatens the deal driving its growth. In the six months to September, revenue jumped 25.6% to R102.5 billion, largely because Vodacom now consolidates Safaricom, the Kenyan telecom in which its stake rose to 55%. EBITDA grew 40% to R42.7 billion, and headline earnings per share rose 25.7%. The interim dividend rose 7.6% to 355 cents, even after Vodacom cut its payout policy to 65% of headline earnings from 75%. Investors liked what they saw, and the shares climbed about 5% on Tuesday.

## Growth beyond Kenya

Safaricom isn't the whole story. Vodacom added 26 million customers over the past year, taking it to a record 250 million. Egypt grew local-currency service revenue by 36.3%, and here at home, Vodacom says it returned prepaid to growth on higher data use, lifting its South African EBITDA margin to 37.4%, the highest in several years. Prepaid customer revenue in South Africa rose 1.7% to R13.4 billion, and prepaid data revenue grew 9.7%. Its financial services customer base grew 15% to 108 million. Safaricom itself grew service revenue by 13.1% and EBITDA by 27.5%, which shows why Vodacom wanted more of it.

## The Kenyan catch

The problem is how Vodacom got to 55%. On 15 September, Kenya's high court nullified the government's sale of a 15% stake in Safaricom to Vodacom's subsidiary Vodafone Kenya, two and a half months after the deal closed. The ruling triggered default clauses on some of Vodacom's loans, moving R2.3 billion of borrowings into current liabilities, although lenders have since waived those defaults. The deal has also left the group carrying more debt, with net debt up R78.8 billion in a year to R135.6 billion.

On 13 October, the court of appeal ordered that the status quo be maintained, leaving Vodafone Kenya as the registered shareholder, and directed that the appeal be expedited. Vodacom expects a hearing date to be set before the end of December. If the high court's ruling stands, its stake would fall to about 40%, costing it control of Safaricom. For now, CEO Shameel Joosub says Vodacom's confidence in the deal remains unchanged. Whether a Kenyan court agrees will decide how much of this growth Vodacom gets to keep.