MTN Uganda revenues grow to Shs1.9 trillion
MTN towers in Kampala which house the telecom’s head offices. PHOTO/FILE/ALEX ESAGALA
MTN Uganda has registered Shs1.9 trillion in revenue, reflecting a 9.5 per cent growth compared to 2019.
The growth was mainly derived from outgoing calls, which were attributed to an increase in subscribers helped by customer value management (CVM) initiatives such as the work from home Internet bundle.
The group which, released its results yesterday, highlighted a growth in revenue across most of its markets with Uganda contributing 4.9 per cent to the group’s revenue.
According to the results, MTN Uganda grew its service revenue by 9.5 per cent, with positive growth delivered in most of its revenue lines including voice, which recorded 3.9 per cent growth, data (27.8 per cent) and revenue from Fintech, which rose by 11.8 per cent.
MTN Uganda collected Shs1 trillion from the voice segment, Shs380b from data, Shs532b from Fintech and Shs6b from digital.
During the year, MTN subscribers increased by 4.1 per cent to 14.1million.
Data subscribers grew by 34.8 per cent to 4.5 million in 2020 and 14.4 per cent growth in mobile money subscribers to 8.5 million.
The growth in data subscribers and revenue could be explained by the emergence of Covid-19 which saw more people working from home through Internet enabled platforms.
Telecoms last year said they had seen an unprecedented growth in demand for data, especially in residential areas.
MTM during the period also recorded a 6.7 per cent drop in capital expenses to Shs261b while operating expenses grew by 4 per cent to Shs1.1 trillion.
The results indicate that the chunk of operating expenses from the telecom catered to commissions, network and maintenance.
However, MTN’s net debt grew by 21 per cent to Shs333b in 2020, which had grown from Shs110b in December 2019 due, in part, to a syndicated loan advanced to the telecom to fund extension of its license.
The $100m loan had, during the reporting period, pushed the telecom’s net debt portfolio by at least a 233.6 per cent.
Shifting focus
MTN Group last year announced that it would exit from the Middle East to focus on the Africa through its pan African strategy. During a recent interview, Ms Yolanda Cuba, the MTN vice president east and southern Africa, said the region which is characterised by a youthful population has a lot of potential for the telecom industry.
