Cell C adds 1.3 million subscribers as debt falls 64% following balance sheet reset

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 21 August 2026; 234 views

South African operator Cell C added 1.3 million subscribers in its 2026 financial year, while cutting net debt by 64% following a balance sheet restructuring completed during its first full year as a listed company.

The operator ended the period with 8.9 million subscribers, up 19% year-on-year, excluding 5.7 million MVNO subscribers recorded on its Home Location Register (HLR).

Revenue rose 14% to ZAR 12.6 billion (US$786 million), while service revenue increased 6% to ZAR 11.6 billion. Reported EBITDA reached ZAR 5.5 billion, although this included one-off gains from the restructuring. Adjusted EBITDA, excluding these items, was ZAR 2.4 billion.

The balance sheet reset was a key feature of the year, with net debt falling 64% from ZAR 5.7 billion to ZAR 2 billion. Net debt to EBITDA consequently improved from 4.29 times to 1.56 times.

Cell C said the restructuring, completed following its November 2025 JSE listing, has left the operator in a stronger position as it moves into its first full year following the integration of its CEC acquisition.

The operator also reported a 20% increase in wholesale service revenue to ZAR 1.8 billion, with Cell C estimating that it holds an 80-85% share of South Africa's MVNO market. It added 1.2 million MVNO customers to its HLR during the year.

Prepaid revenue increased 9.7%, while gross prepaid revenue growth accelerated into double digits in the second half as the company reduced historical airtime discounts. Indirect channels also recorded strong growth, with gross additions up 69% and upgrades increasing 101%.

Network improvements meanwhile helped Cell C strengthen its customer proposition. Data traffic increased 47% year-on-year, significantly ahead of subscriber growth, while voice traffic fell 4%.

The operator's Net Promoter Score rose from 19 to 33 during the year, while app users more than doubled and app revenue increased 41%. It also launched Cell C Business in January 2026, targeting SME and enterprise customers, and expanded international roaming to 120 operators globally.

Cell C expects FY27 to be its first full year operating as a simpler group, with the focus shifting from integration towards growth and margins.

It expects revenue to grow in the upper-single-digit range, based on adjusted FY26 revenue of ZAR 13.6 billion including a full 12 months of CEC. The operator expects capex of between ZAR 750 million and ZAR 850 million, broadly in line with the ZAR 810 million spent during FY26.

CEO Jorge Mendes said the company had "rebuilt and grown the customer base", strengthened its wholesale position and improved customer trust, adding that FY27 would focus on building on those gains.