Defying the odds of COVID-19 impact on the global economy, inflation, and supply chain disruptions, MTN has reported group service revenue growth of 15.9% for the quarter ended 31 March 2022.
Growth Recorded By MTN
● With 276million customers in 19 markets, MTN Group Voice revenue increased by 2.6%, Data revenue increased by 37.3%, and Fintech revenue increased by 21.2%.
● Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were up by 21.1%, and the group EBITDA margin improved to 46.4% (from 44.2%).
● MTN South Africa’s service revenue was up by 4.6%, with an EBITDA margin of 39.9% (from 39.8%), and MTN Nigeria grew service revenue by 22%, with an EBITDA margin of 54.6% (from 53.1%).
● Excluding Nigeria and the impact of NCC’s SIM registration regulations, Subscribers increased by 3.2% to a 276.2million, subscribers were up by 3.9%.
● Active data subscribers increased by 13.1% to a 125.6million, while active Mobile Money (MoMo) customers increased by 25.9% to 58.7million.
● The value of MoMo transactions grew by 12,6% to $59.9billion (up by 18.9% in constant currency).
Commenting on the Q1 report, MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita stated that,
“The MTN Group delivered a solid Q1 2022 performance, with double-digit service revenue growth and the expansion of EBITDA margins supported by the focused execution of our Ambition 2025 strategy.’’
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‘‘This was delivered in a challenging macroeconomic environment in which we continued to navigate the impacts of Covid-19. Many of our markets have also experienced rising inflation and interest rates, and pressure on consumer spending driven by recent global events impacting food and energy prices in particular.
‘‘Monetary and fiscal positions in many of the countries we operate in were challenged during the period, resulting in currency weakness against the US Dollar.
Additionally, supply chains experienced disruptions, and to mitigate the risks of network rollout we accelerated capital expenditure in the quarter under review.”
Mr Mupita added that “In South Africa, load-shedding from the national grid has impacted network availability and we have had to increase investment in batteries ahead of the winter period when we anticipate that the risk of load shedding may remain high.”
