Vodacom CEO Receives R61.7 Million Pay Package for 2023/24 Financial Year

Vodacom’s integrated report for the year ending 31 March 2024 reveals that CEO Shameel Joosub earned a total compensation of R61.7 million during the 2023/24 financial year. Out of this amount, R28 million was paid to the South African Revenue Service as tax.

Joosub’s remuneration included a salary of R17.4 million, which represented only about 28% of his total package. The largest portion of his compensation came from short-term incentives, amounting to R20.6 million, followed by long-term incentives worth R17.4 million. Additionally, Joosub received R6.4 million in dividends over the period.

Vodacom emphasized the competitiveness of Joosub’s long-term incentive (LTI) awards, highlighting his significant investment in Vodacom shares. Joosub holds 1,234,503 shares, valued at over R114 million.

Chief Financial Officer Raisibe Morathi also had a substantial remuneration package. She received a salary of R10.7 million and benefits worth R2.1 million. Her short-term and long-term incentives were R9.5 million and R7.2 million, respectively. Morathi’s dividends amounted to R664,614, bringing her total pre-tax compensation to R30.9 million. After paying roughly R13.5 million in tax, her take-home pay was R16.6 million.

Impact of Roaming Deals on Vodacom’s Revenue

Vodacom’s financial results for 2023/24 showed a 2.8% increase in revenue from its South African operations, reaching R61.6 billion. However, CEO Joosub noted a decline in quarterly service revenue growth due to renegotiated roaming deals with Cell C and Telkom. The company’s fourth-quarter service revenue growth was 0.7%, reflecting pressure on wholesale revenue from these renegotiations.

Joosub explained, “The renegotiated deals with Telkom and Cell C involved reducing rates, impacting our service revenue.”

Despite this, Vodacom continued its robust investment in its South African network, spending R11.1 billion in 2023/24. This investment aimed to bolster network resilience, leverage new spectrum assets, and enhance IT platforms. Over the past three years, Vodacom has consistently invested around R11 billion annually in its network.

Joosub stated, “Our R11.1 billion investment supports network resilience, leverages new spectrum assets, and enhances our IT platforms, ensuring we maintain our status as South Africa’s most reliable network.”

Additionally, Vodacom experienced a significant increase in data traffic, attributed to improved network availability and increased smartphone penetration. The data customer base grew to 28.8 million, with data traffic rising by 36.2% during the financial year.

Main Image: MyBroadband