Tanzania’s Largest Telco Net Profit Rises by 182.7% to TZS 117.8 Billion (±USD 44.5 Million) in the First Six Months of 2026 Supported by Mobile Money Revenues

On 6th November 2026, Vodacom Tanzania (DSE: VODA) announced its interim results for the six months ended 30th September 2026, reporting a 20.8% growth in service revenue and net profit after tax of TZS 117.8 billion.

The performance was supported by increased demand for data and digital financial services, customer growth, and continued investment in network infrastructure.

Financial Performance

The telecommunications company recorded 16 consecutive quarters of growth, with earnings per share (EPS) increasing to TZS 52.454.

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 33.1% to TZS 425.8 billion, with the company’s management reaffirming its medium-term EBITDA margin target of 42% to 45%.

Cash generation strengthened during the period, with cash generated from operations increasing by 38.5% to TZS 574.6 billion.

Operating free cash flow rose by 64.3% to TZS 90.3 billion, while free cash flow more than doubled to TZS 52.3 billion, despite higher tax payments.

The company’s net debt stood at TZS 69.3 billion, while its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio remained at 1.4 times, compared with 1.3 times in the previous period.

Vodacom Tanzania also paid its final FY2026 dividend of TZS 23.91 per share, amounting to TZS 53.6 billion, on 15th October 2026.

Customers

The company’s customer base expanded by 17% year-on-year to 29.2 million, leading to a 33% share of Tanzania’s telecommunications market, and confirming its leadership.

Network

Vodacom Tanzania invested TZS 246 billion in capital expenditure (CapEx) during the half-year, representing capital intensity of 22.8%, mainly due to front-loaded network modernisation.

The company expects full-year capital intensity to remain within its medium-term guidance range of 13% to 16%.

Network expansion included the addition of more than 400 4G sites, bringing population coverage to between 81% and 83%.

The company also deployed 41 5G sites during the period, primarily targeting Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and reducing congestion in high-traffic 4G areas. Fewer than 700 sites remain to undergo vendor-swap modernisation over the next six to eight months.

Mobile Money & Digital Payment

M-Pesa and data services were identified as the primary contributors to service revenue growth. M-Pesa processes between 300 million and 450 million transactions monthly, while digital lending products account for 20% to 30% of total M-Pesa revenue.

Active 30-day Lipa/M-Pesa merchants doubled over the preceding six months, with Vodacom targeting more than 1.5 million active merchants by the end of the financial year.

The upgraded fintech platform has nearly doubled its previous processing capacity and is expected to accommodate projected transaction growth over the next three years.

The company also highlighted the government’s mandatory electronic payment regulations, effective 1st January 2027, as an opportunity to expand digital transactions and merchant services.

Vodacom stated that it had doubled its active merchant base over the previous six months in preparation for the anticipated increase in digital payment adoption.

Regarding pricing, Vodacom indicated that no data price increases are planned in the short to medium term due to competitive market conditions and the company reported that higher fuel prices affect its operating costs through tower lease expenses but have not been passed on to retail customers.

Data Expansion

The company expects data consumption to remain a key growth driver as it expands coverage into rural and peri-urban areas.

Average monthly data usage currently stands at 2 to 3 GB per customer, while average voice traffic ranges between 200 and 300 minutes per customer monthly.

Smartphone penetration in Tanzania stands at approximately 40%, and Vodacom noted that migrating customers from 2G devices to smartphones can nearly double customer spending, presenting an opportunity for further growth in data services.

Market Expansion

Vodacom Tanzania further indicated its openness to partnerships, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions, particularly to accelerate expansion in fixed broadband.

Tanzania’s telecommunications market currently comprises five mobile network operators and more than 100 licensed internet service providers (ISPs).

Growth Outlook

Vodacom Tanzania reaffirmed its medium-term service revenue growth guidance of 15% to 20% over three years and indicated that the 20% growth recorded in the first half partly benefited from the network modernisation programme initiated in the previous financial year, whose impact is expected to moderate in the second half.

Speaking on the matter, Vodacom Tanzania’s Chief Executive Officer, Philip Besiimire, stated, “We are also extending into peri-urban and a lot more rural areas where usage in these areas is not at the same levels. We tend to see that we get the volume in terms of customers, but the scale of usage is not what you’ll find from existing customers.”

Besiimire reaffirmed, “We have diversified our M-Pesa portfolio quite rapidly ahead of the market. We’ve got a diversified portfolio that actually cushions us against the disruptions that are happening in those core or non-core products.”

On her part, Vodacom Tanzania’s Finance Director, Hilda Bujiku, commented, “The medium-term guidance of service revenue of lower double digits looks at it on a three-year basis. We are not expecting a slower data usage because we are expanding our coverage.”

Bujiku added, “In terms of the headroom to carry more transactions, we’re sitting with a very healthy headroom.”

Tanzania’s Telecom Sector

Tanzania’s telecommunications sector recorded 117 million subscriptions in June 2026, with mobile subscriptions accounting for 99.9% of the total.

Internet subscriptions reached 62.79 million, while mobile internet traffic increased to 1,041 petabytes, reflecting growing demand for data services.

Active mobile money accounts also rose to 87.05 million, with Vodacom’s M-Pesa leading the market.