MTN accelerates network investment to R17.1 bn

Mobile operator MTN Group said it accelerated network investment to R17.1 billion and spent an additional R7 billion on securing 4G and 5G spectrum in South Africa and Nigeria.
MTN store South Africa“Notwithstanding the tough macro conditions, MTN remained focused on investing in our markets to increase broadband coverage and to reduce the cost to communicate,” said President and CEO Ralph Mupita.

The investment in networks increased access to broadband services to 85.5 percent of the population and led to an average 22.5 percent reduction in data tariffs.

MTN service revenue grew 14.8 percent to R92.5 billion ($5.71 billion), supported by growth of 4.1 percent in MTN South Africa, 19.9 percent in MTN Nigeria and 29.3 percent in MTN Ghana amid higher demand for data services.

MTN said EBITDA increased 15.1 percent to R43.9 billion and EBITDA margin rose 0.3 percentage points to 45.3 percent. This was supported by expense efficiency program.

Growth in data revenue was 35.9 percent, driven by MTN Nigeria, MTN Ghana, MTN Cameroon and MTN South Africa. MTN’s fintech revenue grew 14.0 percent, with solid performances from Nigeria, Uganda and Ghana.

MTN had 60.7 million Mobile Money users (+24 percent), generating 6 billion transactions worth $116.3 billion. The total number of MTN subscribers in the period was 281.6 million, up 5.6 percent.

MTN said it received a $35 million binding offer for its Afghanistan business, nearing an exit of the Middle East.

The deal would conclude MTN’s exit from Middle Eastern markets, after selling MTN Yemen and abandoning MTN Syria last year. Its 49 percent financial investment in Irancell will continue to be managed within the MTN portfolio.

In 2020, MTN announced an exit from the Middle East to focus on its core African operations as part of its efforts to simplify its structure and reduce exposure to riskier markets.

MTN said data revenue grew 35.9 percent, supported by the 14.2 percent year-on-year growth in active data subscribers and 25.5 percent increase in data usage. Voice revenue, its biggest service revenue generator, inched up 1.9 percent, as financially constrained consumers in South Africa substituted voice calls with data calls.