MTN Group, the pan African mobile operator, grew revenue 15 percent in the quarter to March 31, spurred by a substantial 37 percent growth in data revenue.
The group, which has 274 million customers in 19 markets, said voice revenue only increased 2.6 percent for the period, Fintech revenue however was well up by 21.2 percent.
“The MTN Group delivered a solid first quarter performance, with double-digit service revenue growth and the expansion of Ebitda margins supported by the focused execution of our Ambition 2025 strategy,” said Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita in a statement.
Ebitda was up 21.1 percent, following an improvement in its margin to 46.4 percent from 44.2 percent.
Group service revenue came in ahead of medium-term targets and grew by 15.9 percent.
MTN South Africa service revenue 4.6 percent, with an Ebitda margin of 39.9 percent, up from 39.8 percent.
MTN Nigeria service revenue was up by 22 percent, with an Ebitda margin of 54.6 percent, up from 53.1 percent.
The number of subscribers increased 3.2 percent to 276.2 million, impacted by new SIM registration regulations in Nigeria. Excluding this, subscribers were up 3.9 percent.
Active data subscribers increased by 13.1 percent to 125.6m. Active Mobile Money (MoMo) customers increased 25.9 percent to 58.7m. MoMo value of transactions was up by 12.6 percent to $59.9 billion.
He said many of the group’s markets were still navigating the impacts of Covid-19, and were experiencing rising inflation and interest rates, and the pressure on consumer spending, driven by global events impacting food and energy prices in particular.
Monetary and fiscal positions in many of the countries in which the group operates were challenged during the period, resulting in currency weakness against the US dollar.
Supply chains experienced disruptions, and to mitigate the risks of network rollout, capital expenditure was accelerated in the quarter.
In South Africa, investment in batteries was increased ahead of winter due to the risk of load shedding.
MTN Nigeria added 1.7 million subscribers in the quarter, a solid momentum on the 1 million in net additions in the fourth quarter of 2021.
In the fintech business, new commission-earning rules were implemented in Ghana in the third quarter of 2021 to improve margins, which impacted transaction value. Adjusting for this, the transaction value grew by 34 percent in constant currency terms.
The number of active merchants accepting MoMo payments increased by 46.8 percent year-on-year to 765 211 and the total value of MoMo merchant payments rose by 125.2 percent year on year to $4.3bn.
The deleveraging of the balance sheet was progressing well. Strong liquidity was maintained with headroom of R53.2bn (R20.6bn) in cash, and R32.6bn in committed undrawn facilities, as at March 31.
MTN SA recorded a “healthy” 4.6 percent increase in service revenue line with the group’s medium-term guidance.
“This performance shows the resilience of the business, against the backdrop of a challenging macroeconomic environment, with a rapidly rising unemployment rate, and increased pressure on consumer disposable income.
“This environment has contributed to a notable shift in customer spending patterns and greater competition for share of the consumer’s wallet,” said Mupita.
The share price increased 1.27 percent Friday afternoon to R171.04 on the JSE.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE