MTN Group added 18 million customers to reach a total of 251 million, adding that its president and chief executive officer, Rob Shutter would be stepping down from his role at the end of his contract in March 2021.
The company in a statement yesterday announced an encouraging set of results for the full year ended 31 December 2019, noting that a succession process will be concluded during the year, enabling a seamless handover.
MTN delivered commercial momentum across its operations and made great progress in its strategy and strong financial results, despite challenging trading conditions.
Shuter said, MTN added 18 million customers to reach a total of 251 million and increased data users by 17 million to 95 million and fintech customers by seven million to 35 million. “This growth is central to our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life.
On the financial side, MTN delivered service revenue growth of 9.8 per cent with an acceleration in the second half. EBITDA margin improved and reported headline earnings per share grew by 62 per cent. Its network rollout brought a further 69 million people into 4G coverage whilst reducing capex intensity.
Shuter said:
“Improved cash flows during the year supported stable balance sheet ratios. We also saw improvements in customer experience, network quality and market share across the group. On the strategic front, we launched our instant messaging platform Ayoba, which is now live in 12 markets with two million monthly active users.
“We launched MoMo in South Africa and Afghanistan and received our super-agent licence in Nigeria, registering more than 100 000 agents by year-end. We also delivered R14 billion of asset realisations within the first 12 months of our programme and MTN Nigeria listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
“We recorded progress on various regulatory issues, including the AGF tax matter in Nigeria. Relationships with stakeholders across our markets improved, and we reported our highest employee sustainable engagement score yet.
He said following data price reductions in South Africa and Nigeria in 2019, they expect price elasticity to improve data revenue growth in 2020, supported by expanded 4G coverage in Nigeria and across the group. “We will continue to scale up our fintech and digital services as well as grow our enterprise and wholesale businesses.
“We will use 2020 to implement our succession process and ensure a seamless handover to the new group president and CEO whilst maintaining our operational execution,” Shuter added.
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