https://www.engineeringnews.co.za
Aggregate|Business|Financial|Service|Services|Technology
Aggregate|Business|Financial|Service|Services|Technology
aggregate|business|financial|service|services|technology

MTN posts strong first-quarter service revenue growth

9th May 2019

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

Font size: - +

Telecommunications giant MTN Group has met its medium-term revenue growth guidance, posting a 10% year-on-year increase to R33.2-billion, supported by a continued rise in voice, data and financial technology (fintech) revenue, during the three months to March 31, 2019.

This was led by strong first-quarter operational performance in South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana.

"MTN's positive commercial momentum continued in the first quarter with a pleasing operational performance across the markets, led by South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana. Group service revenue grew by 10% year-on-year, in line with our medium-term guidance of double-digit service revenue growth,” said group president and CEO Rob Shuter on Thursday.

Outgoing voice revenue for the quarter under review increased 5.9%, data revenue increased 18.3% and fintech revenue surged 30.6%.

However, the group’s digital revenue plunged 45.4%, owing to the optimisation of value-added services business.

“We are pleased by the service revenue development, despite challenges in some markets,” added group CFO Ralph Mupita.

MTN South Africa achieved a 4.6% increase in service revenue to R9-billion, within the company’s medium-term guidance range, with a sterling performance from the wholesale business.

South Africa’s data and fintech revenue increased by 3.1% and 21.1% respectively, while digital and outgoing voice revenue declined by 35.7% and 4.4% respectively.

MTN South Africa's margin on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was 38.8% during the three months to March. On an IAS 17 basis, the margin remained unchanged at 35.3%.

Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria reported a solid quarter with service revenue increasing by 13.4% year-on-year, meeting the company’s double-digit growth guidance.

This was led by a 32.4% increase in data revenue and a 12.7% increase in voice revenue.

MTN Nigeria reported an Ebitda margin of 53.3%.

The Southern and East Africa and Ghana grouping delivered a strong performance, mostly driven by MTN Ghana, MTN Uganda and MTN Rwanda, with an aggregate service revenue increase of 21.2%.

In the West and Central Africa region, performance had been impacted negatively by the underperformance of MTN Ivory Coast, leading to a 1.4% contraction in the region’s service revenue.

In the Middle East and North Africa, excluding Iran, service revenue increased by 22.6%.

“We made good progress in our work to build a digital operator, adding 2.6-million active data subscribers and 1.2-million MTN Mobile Money subscribers,” Shuter continued.

While South Africa lost nearly 1.2-million subscribers quarter-on-quarter, the group recorded a year-on-year increase from 29.8-million subscribers in the first quarter of 2018 to 30.01-million in the first quarter of 2019.

At the end of March, MTN South Africa had 24.1-million prepaid users, 5.9-million postpaid subscribers and three-million Internet of Things subscribers.

The subscriber numbers in Nigeria surged from 58.1-million and 54.5-million in the first and fourth quarter of 2018, respectively, to 60.2-million in the first quarter for 2019.

Overall, the group’s subscribers as at March 31 reached 236.6-million, up from 220.8-million in the first quarter of 2018 and 232.5-million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Alco-Safe
Alco-Safe

An unmanned breathalyser that is made to be tough and simple to use. Can be used in any environment for operator-free breathalyser testing.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East

Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.083 0.139s - 159pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now