MTN subscriber Data revenue rises 10.8% as subscriber base hits 62mn  

MTN Nigeria has seen revenue from data subscriptions grow organically by 10.8 per cent to 9.94 billion rand for the year ended 31 December 2016.     

 During the year, data revenue increased by 19.7 per cent to contribute 27 per cent to total group revenue, according to the group’s 2016 annual report.

 “Data revenue growth was supported by strong growth in most markets benefiting from significantly improved 3G and LTE network quality,” said the report.

 The annual report of the telecommunications giant showed that revenues from the Nigerian operations stood at 47.122 billion rand, making up 32.10 per cent of the group revenue within the year.

 MTN Nigeria’s contribution to group profit was the highest from any single country, close to the combined contributions of the three Southern and Eastern African Operations (SEA) that contributed 35.50 per cent of group revenue. MTN South Africa contributed 41.922 b billion rand, 28.50 per cent of group revenue.

 The Nigerian operations added 717,000 customers to its subscriber base as the company made authorised capital expenditure up to 9,543,000,000 rand in the year.

 The annual report also said that MTN Nigeria continues to make progress with its preparations to list MTN Nigeria shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), having set up a management task team, and appointed a lead issuing house, joint transaction advisors, global coordinators, and legal advisors.

 “While MTN remains committed to the listing, it is subject to suitable market conditions, macro-economic conditions, said the report. “The listing is also subject to securing the appropriate approvals and certainty from relevant regulators and other stakeholders.”

 The telecoms outfit showed a meaningful improvement in the second half of the year as it shook off regulatory challenges of the beginning.

 “Many governments implemented policy changes in response to lower commodity revenues, and regulatory pressures continued to increase,” said the telecoms Group.

“In South Africa, there were further delays in the awarding of spectrum and in Nigeria, the regulator’s 2013 ruling declaring MTN a ‘dominant operator’ and the consequential restrictions continued to impact our commercial success.”

 The telecoms operator said that despite regulatory challenges, it embarked on a wide-ranging strategic review of operations and processes to ensure optimal strategy execution, with focus on key areas such as transformation and accelerating the growth of new revenue streams.  

INNOCENT UNAH