MTN Group subscribers increased by 9.8% to 207.8 million, notwithstanding on-going subscriber registration programmes in a number of markets. Overall subscriber growth was supported by competitive segmented offerings and improved network quality and capacity in many markets. MTN Group total Revenue for the year increased by 12.0%.
Announcing the annual results and achievements for the financial year 2013, the MTN Group President and CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa, attributed the group positive growth to the competitive offerings and improved network quality and capacity in many markets.
“MTN Group delivered satisfactory growth in headline earnings, supported by favourable currency movements. The Group faced a number of challenges, including aggressive price competition and increased regulatory pressures in many of our key markets,” he said.
MTN Uganda has registered positive performance for the year ending 31 December 2013, increasing its subscriber base by 14.4% to 8.8 million, driven by strong acquisition promotions, segmented offerings and the continued success of MTN Zone according to the MTN Group Results released on 5th, March 2014 in Johannesburg South Africa. MTN Uganda continued to show good growth and increased market share despite the high competition in Ugandan market. Increased penetration into rural areas and improved network quality further supported this growth.
According to the results, total revenue for MTN Uganda increased by 17.8%, supported by a 51.6% increase in data revenue and 10.9% increase in outgoing voice revenue. SMS revenue declined by 3.5% as customers opted for newer data-driven social media platforms for communication. Data trends were supported by an expanded 3G network, value-added services and enhanced regional Marketing activities.
The annual results indicate that MTN Mobile Money continued to perform well in Uganda and recorded a 47.0% increase in registered subscribers to 5.2 million with more than 25 million transactions per month. Usage was stimulated by a wider mobile payment product range. MTN Uganda’s EBITDA margin declined by 0.5 percentage points to 35.9%,mainly impacted by new lease rental cost from tower deal.
MTN’s vision is to lead the delivery of a bold, new Digital World to its customers. As MTN continues to fulfill this promise it remains committed to continue to improve the lives of Ugandans by consistently fulfilling our promise to provide consistent service and the best customer experience.
Commenting on the results, MTN Uganda CEO Mazen Mroué said, “I am happy to note that the results continue to show a steady performance for the MTN Group and particularly for MTN Uganda currently with a subscriber base of nearly 9 million customers with mobile penetration increased to 44%. MTN Uganda’s focus over last year was to enhance our infrastructure investment towards improved Network Quality, the rollout of innovative Products and Services and overall improvement of Customer Experience”.
Regarding the continued growth of MTN Mobile Money, Mroué said, “MTN Mobile Money remains the fastest growing product in Uganda with more 5.2 million registered users each transacting on average five times a month. The popularity and growth of MTN Mobile Money supported by a large agent network exceeded 27,000 agents and significantly increased financial inclusion of the unbanked. MTN customers have continued using the Bill payment channels to pay their Electricity and Water bills through MTN Mobile Money. Overall figures indicate that more than 85% of the mobile bill payment collections in Uganda are made through the MTN Mobile Money platform”.
In 2013, MTN Uganda focused largely on the expansion of the data network infrastructure and was the first in the market to introduce word class internet technologies through the 3G 42Mbps, 4G LTE and WiFi Hotspots. MTN Uganda total Data subscribers grew by 124% up to 2.4 million.
MTN Uganda launched its Mobile Network operations in 1998, since inception MTN cumulative investment exceeded UGX 1.7 Trillion. In 2013, the company has injected more than UGX 140 billion in upgrading the Network infrastructure and adding another 400Km of national fiber, by December 2013, MTN Uganda Total Fiber infrastructure exceeded 3,200 Km. The continuous investment by MTN in Uganda has enabled job creation with direct and indirect support for over 560,000 Ugandans.
“On behalf of Leadership team, would like to congratulate the MTN Uganda staff for their contribution and support in achieving these positive results. At MTN we recognize our staff as a key asset in enabling this success. As we move into 2014, our focus will be primarily on providing distinctive Customer Experience as well as ensuring consistent investment in key infrastructure to support the anticipated continued growth and increased demand for new digital services” Mroué concluded.