Vodacom has posted strong financial results for the six months ended 30 September 2025, reporting higher profits despite making a multi-million rand payout to “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate, closing a two-decade legal saga.
The telecommunications giant confirmed that it has settled out of court with Makate, bringing finality to one of South Africa’s most publicised corporate legal battles. While the settlement amount remains confidential, industry estimates place the figure in the hundreds of millions of rand, potentially close to R748 million — a sum that would have weighed heavily on most balance sheets.
Yet, Vodacom’s numbers tell a different story.
On Monday the group reported a 10.9% increase in revenue to R81.6 billion, with headline earnings per share up 32.3% to 467 cents, and declared an interim dividend of 330 cents per share, up 15.8% from the previous period. The results were buoyed by strong growth in Egypt, steady performance in South Africa, and a 20.3% jump in financial services revenue to R8 billion, now contributing over 12% to group service revenue.
CEO Shameel Joosub said the results reflect Vodacom’s “resilience and agility” amid ongoing economic challenges. “We delivered robust growth that positions us ahead of our medium-term targets. Our strategy of expanding beyond mobile into digital and financial services continues to yield strong returns,” Joosub said.
Closing a two-decade legal battle
Makate’s fight with Vodacom began in 2008, eight years after he came up with the idea for the “Please Call Me” service — a free text feature that allowed users without airtime to send a call request. The idea transformed how millions of South Africans communicated, generating billions for Vodacom over the years.
After a lengthy court battle, the Constitutional Court ruled in Makate’s favour in 2016, ordering Vodacom to compensate him. Disputes over the amount dragged on until the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2024 directed Vodacom to recalculate the payout based on revenue from the service, a ruling that forced renewed negotiations.
Now, Vodacom has confirmed that “both parties are glad that finality has been reached,” signaling an end to a case that has tested the company’s reputation for fairness and innovation.
Strong core operations amid legal costs
Even with the settlement, Vodacom’s South African operations remained stable, recording 2.2% service revenue growth to R31.7 billion. Data traffic grew by more than 30%, driven by increased smartphone penetration and new LTE offerings. Across the continent, Vodacom’s international operations in countries such as the DRC, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Tanzania saw service revenue rise 13.3% to R16.7 billion.
The group continues to pursue its Vision 2030 strategy, which targets expanding its customer base to 260 million and financial services users to 120 million. Currently, Vodacom serves 223 million customers across its markets, including Safaricom.
The company’s strong interim performance underscores its financial strength — and its ability to absorb one of the largest individual settlements in South African corporate history without denting profitability.
