Cell C has reported a more than 50% rise in full-year earnings as its pre-paid division delivered strong growth in a tough market.The group on Friday reported a 13.5% rise in revenue to R12.6bn in the year ended May, with service revenue of R11.1bn.Headline earnings per share increased 57.4% to 2,338c. In line with the company’s guidance at its initial public offering, the board did not approve any dividend for the year.Adjusted earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation were up 17% to R2.38bn.The results announcement provided a boost to the company’s share price on the JSE, which at 10am was up 4.48% at R28. It has a market capitalisation of R9.4bn.Group CEO Jorge Mendes described the year as one of two halves for Cell C, which listed on the JSE in November last year. Prepaid delivered a stronger performance, growing revenue by 9.7% year-on-year to about R5.8bn, supported by a recovery in the customer base and the normalisation of historical airtime discounts“The first half was defined by the successful completion of our restructuring and initial public offering, leaving the group with a significantly stronger balance sheet and positioning us to execute our strategy as a newly listed company,” he said.“The second half was about execution, integrating Comm Equipment Company (CEC), operating as a single business, and demonstrating the growth potential of our asset-light, partnership-led platform.”Cell C acquired CEC, a company specialising in services for contract customers, from Blue Label Telecoms last year as part of Cell C’s plan to internalise its entire customer operations from marketing and supply chain to billing and collections. Mendes said operationally, the business moved from recovery toward more deliberate growth. Prepaid delivered a stronger performance, growing revenue by 9.7% year-on-year to about R5.8bn, supported by a recovery in the customer base and the normalisation of historical airtime discounts.“Postpaid stabilised during the year, with a cleaner customer base and the integration of CEC strengthening our ability to compete more effectively in the segment. The unit grew revenue by 1.2% to R2.3bn.“Wholesale remained a standout performer and continues to validate our platform strategy, with sustained momentum in our MVNO [mobile virtual network operator] business demonstrating the strength and scalability of Cell C’s partner-led model,” he added.Notwithstanding the regulatory headwinds from the data rollover regulations and the termination rate glide path, we expect full-year revenue growth in the upper single-digit range— Jorge Mendes, Cell C group CEO At year-end, Cell C supported more than 5.7-million subscriber lines connected through its MVNO platform. The group said the environment in which it operates is characterised by constrained consumer spending and intense competition across the sector.At the same time, it said, demand for data and digital connectivity continues to grow, creating opportunities for operators that can deliver value, flexibility and innovation efficiently.“Against this backdrop, our outlook reflects continued operational momentum. We expect prepaid to remain a key contributor to growth, supported by further market gains, while postpaid is anticipated to show encouraging year-on-year improvement as we benefit from a full year of CEC integration and enhanced commercial execution,” he said.Wholesale remains a key growth driver, and Cell C expects double-digit revenue growth to continue, supported by the continued strong performance of the MVNO business.“With our restructuring complete, CEC integrated and balance sheet materially strengthened, we believe Cell C is well positioned to benefit from these market trends through its asset-light, partnership-led model. “Notwithstanding the regulatory headwinds from the data rollover regulations and the termination rate glide path, we expect full-year revenue growth in the upper single-digit range.”Business Day