South African telecom executive Shameel Joosub is seeing the market value of his minority stake in Vodacom Group approach $20 million after his holdings in the telecommunications company increased by 123,103 shares during the company’s 2026 financial year. Joosub, Vodacom’s CEO since 2012, now holds 1,981,962 shares, up from 1,858,859 a year earlier.

Based on Vodacom’s closing share price of R151.89 on Tuesday, Sept. 22, Joosub’s stake was worth about R301.04 million ($18.6 million). The increase did not result from personal open-market purchases, according to the company’s financial statements for the year ended March 31, but from awards under its long-term incentive plans.

Shareholding gains momentum

Vodacom’s director report shows Joosub held 1,858,859 shares as of March 31, 2025, compared with 1,981,962 shares a year later. The 123,103-share increase coincided with the vesting and allocation of equity awards granted through the group’s executive incentive programs, rather than a disclosed acquisition of shares in the market.

Joosub participates in Vodacom’s equity-settled long-term incentive schemes, according to the company’s executive remuneration disclosures. For the 2026 financial year, his package included R32.9 million ($2.03 million) in nonmarket long-term incentives and R13 million ($0.8 million) in market-condition incentives, compared with R28.8 million and R16.1 million, respectively, in 2025.

The incentive awards are delivered through Vodacom’s Forfeitable Share Plan and Conditional Share Plan, which tie executive compensation to performance over a multiyear period. During the 2026 financial year, 2,731,730 Forfeitable Share Plan shares and 209,897 Conditional Share Plan shares vested across the group after performance conditions were met.

Awards, not market buying

The company’s performance measures include operating free cash flow, total shareholder return, return on capital employed and environmental, social and governance targets. Vodacom also repurchased 3,936,062 shares at an average price of R136.92 during the year, with the company stating that the purchases were made to fund employee share allocations.

There is no disclosure in the 2026 financial statements of Joosub making personal open-market purchases during the period. The movement in his disclosed shareholding is consistent with the settlement and vesting of performance-based shares awarded through Vodacom’s employee incentive arrangements, rather than a separate investment decision by the chief executive.

Vodacom delivers strong growth

Joosub, who was born in Laudium, Transvaal, now part of Gauteng, has led Vodacom since 2012 after joining Vodafone in 1994. Under his tenure, the telecommunications group has expanded across multiple African markets, with its 2026 results showing stronger revenue, profitability and customer growth across the business.

Vodacom’s revenue rose 10.1 percent to R167.7 billion ($10.4 billion) in the year ended March 31, 2026. Egypt, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lesotho were among the strongest contributors, while South Africa and Mozambique also delivered resilient results during the financial year.

Group EBITDA increased 12.8 percent to R62.6 billion ($3.9 billion), while normalized EBITDA rose 14.2 percent. The EBITDA margin improved to 37.4 percent, supported by stronger profitability in Egypt and Vodacom’s international operations. Headline earnings per share increased 22.9 percent to R10.53 ($0.65), helped by South Africa, Egypt, international operations and associates.

Customer base hits 237 million

Customer growth provided another major lift for Vodacom during the year. The group added 26 million customers, more than twice its annual Vision 2030 target of 10 million, taking its customer base to 237.3 million across eight African markets and prompting the company to raise its Vision 2030 target to 275 million customers.

Vodacom’s balance sheet also strengthened during the year. Total assets increased to R276.43 billion ($17.1 billion), from R249.98 billion ($15.46 billion), while total equity rose to R107.2 billion ($6.63 billion). Retained earnings climbed to R60.64 billion ($3.75 billion), supporting the board’s decision to declare a final dividend of R4.05 ($0.25) per share.