Listed cellphone company MTN Group on Wednesday reported a 30,8% rise in adjusted headline earnings per share to 222,5 cents for the six month period ended September 30, versus 170,1 cents reported last year.
The diluted earnings per share rose by 29% to 230,1 cents, profit for the period under review increased by 31% to R4,462-billion and revenue jumped by 25,2% to R17,2-billion.
The company, with operations in nine sub-Saharan African countries, reported a 32% rise in subscribers to 20,568-million from the previous 15,641-million users.
In South Africa, MTN’s customer base grew by 12% to 8,9-million, while in Nigeria — Africa’s most-populous country with 137-million inhabitants — the company’s base steamed ahead by 38% to 7,667-million from 5,5-million. In Nigeria, MTN is competing with Telkom and others for a controlling stake in the fixed-line operator Nitel bundled with mobile arm M-Tel.
Although the Nigerian growth and recent acquisitions have helped MTN become Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN is ranked second in South Africa behind Telkom-held Vodacom, which has 15,8-million subscribers in the country.
Vodacom has a total of 19,1-million subscribers across its five markets, including Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Elsewhere on the continent, MTN’s base grew by 23% to 1,1-million in Cameroon, where it competes with Orange of France, and 14% to 0,9-million in its fourth-largest market, Uganda, where it also runs the second fixed-line network.
During the period under review, MTN increased its number of markets to eight with acquisitions in Côte d’Ivoire, which has 0,9-million users, and Zambia with 91 000 subscribers.
Subsequent to September 30, the operator entered the Botswana market and looks set to deploy in Iran once a licence has been issued, while it awaits a decision on Tunisia that could see its footprint on the African continent rising to 11 countries.
Average revenue per user fell by 9% to R168 per month in South Africa. Nigeria and Cameroon also experienced a decline in average revenue per user. — I-Net Bridge