Vodacom Group reported revenues for the six-months to the end of September rose by 7.6 per cent to ZAR31.75 billion (US$4 billion), while net profit was up by 2.8 per cent to ZAR4.39 billion.

South Africa delivered a decent performance with service revenue growing 4.7 per cent to ZAR23.5 billion (7.0 per cent excluding the impact of cuts in mobile termination rates). Equipment sales were particularly strong, growing 20.3 per cent.

Gross connections increased sharply to approximately eight million, with the brand refreshed and numerous promotions and handset deals the primary drivers of the 56.5 per cent year-on-year change. Customers increased 21.1 per cent year-on-year to 28.9 million, a net increase of 2.4 million in the six month period. This was achieved despite the accelerated disconnection of approximately 537, 000 SIMs that were locked at the RICA (Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act) deadline. This Act was put in place by the South African government and requires, amongst other things, for customer information to be recorded and verified.

Churn also increased in the second quarter as a result of the RICA disconnections. Total ARPU was down nine per cent to ZAR141, largely due to lower interconnect rates and the higher prevalence of lower usage customers in the mix.

Data revenue now represents 15.8 per cent of service revenue. Active data customers grew 32.3 per cent to 10.5 million, representing 36.2 per cent of customers.

Active smartphones on the network increased by approximately 870,000 in the six months to 4.1 million.

Outside of South Africa, service revenue increased by 13.3 per cent to ZAR4.39 billion due to strong growth in customers and relatively stable macro environments. Customers increased 22.5 per cent year-on-year to 19 million, adding two million in the six months.

While still a relatively small portion of overall revenue, data revenue growth was very strong at 71.4 per cent as Vodacom witnessed more customers using data and mobile financial services. Active data customers increased 82.4 per cent to 1.9 million as the operator expanded network coverage and introduced more affordable data offerings. Take up of the M-Pesa service in Tanzania accelerated with active customers reaching 2.2 million, penetrating 21.0 per cent of the customer base.

Qtel Group today announced that Yves Gaultier is leaving his post as CEO of Tunisiana, and will be succeeded on November 15 by Kenneth Campbell. Campbell, a veteran global telecom executive, came from his most recent role of CEO at Wind Mobile, Canada, and will report to the Qtel Group CEO, Nasser Marafih.

Incoming Tunisiana CEO, Kenneth Campbell

“We are pleased to announce that Ken Campbell has been appointed CEO of our Tunisia operation. Ken brings great experience and track record in the commercial and customer services, and will prove instrumental in ensuring that the quality of customer experience is consistently at the highest possible levels,” Marafih commented.

Mobile chip manufacturer Qualcomm reported a 31 per cent increase in net income to achieve record results for its 2011 fiscal year. Net income for the year ending September 25 hit US$4.26 billion on the back of a 36 per cent increase in total revenue to US$14.96 billion.

Qualcomm reported a 22 per cent year-on-year increase in net income for its fourth fiscal quarter. Net income amounted to US$1.06 billion, two per cent higher than the previous quarter. Revenue for the quarter was US$4.12 billion, up 39 per cent year-on-year and 14 per cent higher quarter-on-quarter.

The company’s chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs said the results were driven by the “popularity of smartphones, continued adoption of 3G technologies, particularly in emerging regions, and our industry-leading patent portfolio popularity of smartphones.”

Jacobs added that the company’s chipset roadmap, licensing programme and global partnerships put it in a good position in terms of revenue and earnings growth in the 2012 fiscal year. “We are excited about the upcoming commercial launch of our ground-breaking Snapdragon multimode LTE solution and continue to invest in and execute on our strategic priorities to drive profitable growth,” he said.

Omani telco Nawras today announced four new appointments within the senior management team.

Said Ahmed Safrar is promoted to chief customer experience officer and a member of the executive committee team, while Hussain Al-Lawati is promoted to acting chief sales & distribution officer. Wolfgang Wemhoff joins Nawras as chief technical officer while Jim Maxwell is promoted to chief counsel.

Maxwell joined Nawras as director of legal affairs in 2007, while Wemhoff is an experienced international executive with a strong customer centric orientation and expertise that he has developed in companies including Mannesmann in Germany and Vodafone in Germany and Turkey.

For the nine months to end-September 2011, the Zain Group announced consolidated revenues of KWD 988.1 million (US$ 3.58 billion), reflecting a 2.2 increase year-on-year. Net income increased to KWD 210.2 million, up seven per cent on the same nine month period in 2010. The company’s consolidated EBITDA reached KWD 444.4 million, up four per cent on the corresponding period in 2010, reflecting an EBITDA margin of 45 per cent.

Year-on-year customer growth across all Zain operations was 17 per cent, with the operator counting 41.4 million managed active customers as of end-September 2011. The Zain Group added 6.1 million new active customers over the past 12 months.