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MTN South Africa records high profit despite poor economy

Published

3 years ago

March 10, 2022

MTN Group’s South African unit on Wednesday said it reported high profit and subscriber growth in 2021.

The tech giant disclosed that its subscriber numbers jumped by three million to 35 million as “churn stabilised” and as the company reported higher gross additions.

According to the company, service revenue climbed by 6.5%, while data revenue leapt 13.1%. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) – a measure of operational profitability – increased by 6.1%, although the Ebitda margin contracted marginally to 38.9%.

Data consumption accelerated in 2021, according to the yearly report, with data traffic growth of 58.3% and a 12.5% increase in the number of customers actively using the Internet, MTN said.

Capital expenditure rose to R10.4-billion when measured using IFRS 16 reporting standards (or R9.1-billion under IAS 17 rules), an increase over 2020’s investment.

“MTN South Africa delivered very strong overall results in 2021, on sustained commercial and operational execution across all business units. The [operating company] maintained a solid growth trajectory in all core businesses, namely the prepaid consumer business unit (CBU); the post-paid CBU; the enterprise business unit; and the wholesale business,” MTN Group said.

“This performance was achieved against a challenging macroeconomic and consumer backdrop and increasing unemployment rates in industries such as hospitality and tourism. MTN South Africa was also impacted by shifts in customer spending patterns as lockdown restrictions abated and the movement of people increased. This intensified competition for share of the consumer’s wallet.”

Still, the company’s 6.5% service revenue growth exceeding the medium-term target and was supported by healthy performances by the prepaid CBU (up 2.1%), the post-paid CBU (up 4.5%), enterprise (up 16.8%) and wholesale (up 21.7%).

VenturesNow

Food prices drive second straight monthly hike in Nigeria’s inflation

Published

9 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to official statistics released on Friday, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased for the second consecutive month in October, rising to 33.88% in annual terms from 32.70% in September, mostly as a result of increasing food costs.

In an attempt to boost economic development and strengthen public finances, President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira and reduced subsidies, which caused inflation to spike in the second half of last year.

As the effects of the naira devaluation started to lessen in July of this year, a slew of hikes in the price of petroleum and devastating floods that destroyed crops once again exacerbated pricing pressures, making the greatest cost-of-living crisis in decades worse in Africa’s most populous country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, price increases for basics such as rice, maize, bread, potatoes, and cooking oil prompted food inflation to surge from 37.77% in October to 39.16% year over year.

This year, more than 1.5 million hectares of agriculture have been damaged by torrential rain and floods in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving millions hungry and displacing large numbers of people.

In an effort to curb inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates five times this year. On November 26, it is expected to make its final rate decision of the year.

VenturesNow

MTN financial report reveals drop in group service revenue

Published

9 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Due to operational difficulties in Sudan and the depreciation of the Nigerian naira, MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom provider, announced on Thursday an 18.5% decline in service revenue for the third quarter that concluded on September 30.

With 288 million users in 17 African regions, MTN said that its group service revenue dropped from 156.3 billion rand ($6.99 billion) in the same quarter of the previous year to 127.4 billion rand.

Despite stating that “the naira was less volatile on a sequential basis in Q3 than in preceding quarters,” the business reported a 48.7% decline in MTN Nigeria’s income due to the currency’s depreciation.

Due to a stronger Ugandan shilling than the previous year, Uganda’s largest contributor, MTN South Africa (MTN SA), expanded by a meagre 3.3%.

Due to “subscriber registration regulations in Nigeria and a decline in users in Sudan, where the conflict has displaced millions of people,” the business reported that its subscriber base increased by 1.6% to 288 million.

Given the higher demand in Nigeria despite the legal obstacles, MTN plans to increase its capital expenditures, which it expects would total between 28 and 33 billion rand for the entire year.