MTN Group reported a boost to revenue and profit as the operator pledges to invest to increase capacity in data and mobile money services.
The company said in a statement it had “sustained commercial momentum” across its 19 markets despite being setback by the pandemic.
Service revenue grew 18.3% to ZAR171.8 billion (US$11.billion), while EBITDA saw a 23.7% boost to ZAR80.8 billion with margin expanding by 2.2% to 44.5%. The positive financial indicators were down to growth in larger units in its footprint, operating leverage and the benefits of the group’s expense efficiency programme, noted CEO and group president Ralph Mupita.
Results were delivered despite a slowdown in subscriber numbers in Nigeria related to new SIM card regulations in the country, where the operator reportedly lost 7.5m connections as a result.
However, across the group, MTN amasses a total of 272.4 million subscribers up by 2.9 million last year.
There have been “greater adoption” of data and fintech services resulting in an addition of 11.1 million new data users and 10.4 million new mobile money subscribers, reaching totals of 122.0 million and 56.8 million respectively.
To support the increase in traffic for both MTN is planning to invest ZAR32.7 billion in network and capacity this year.
Its fintech business now has 57 million monthly active subscribers which generated 10 billion transactions with a total transaction value of US$239 billion in 2021.
Around 23 million more people were connected to broadband services and the company has achieved 83% of rural broadband coverage against its target of 95% by 2025.
“We adapted to the extraordinary circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and started shaping the MTN of the future through the execution of Ambition 2025,” said Mupita.
“We remain focused on providing leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress and creating shared value for our stakeholders. Our enhanced medium-term guidance reflects the growth we see across our markets, as we play our part in driving digital and financial inclusion across Africa.”
