- MTN Uganda Consolidated Revenue increased by 4.9 percent.
- MTN Uganda telecommunications revenue increased by 2.8
percent.
- This was supported by a 17.4 percent increase in data
revenue that contributed 28.3 percent to the telco revenue.
- Total subscriber base decreased by 14.1% to 8.9mil
- Mobile Money recorded a 6.7 percent year-on-year increase in
active Mobile Financial Service (MFS) subscribers
- Mobile Money recorded a 23.4 percent year-on-year increase
in revenues driven by a wider mobile financial services product range.
KAMPALA, Uganda: -MTN
Group yesterday releasedthe Group Performance Report that highlighted
achievements of the MTN Group and MTN Uganda results for the year ended 2015.
The results reflectheadline revenue growth of 2.8 percent
for telco Revenues despite a challenging operating environmentdrivenby the depreciation
of the Uganda Shilling, subscriberdisconnection as well as the effect of the
One Network Area. The ongoing investment in network and system infrastructure
has positioned MTN Uganda as the leading network operator. This has enabled the
company to report good growth in key strategic areas.
MTN Uganda’s subscriber base decreased by a net 1.47 million
year-on-year (YOY) subscribers notwithstanding the disconnection 3,7mil
subscribers in the last quarter to meet the compliance requirements of the Regulation
of Interception Communications Act (RICA). This resulted in a decrease in the
subscriber base by 14.1% to 8.9mil at year end. There has already been a
significant return of these customers with 1mil net new connections being
achieved in the first two months of the year. This is an increase of 11.1% from
the closing base at year end.
MTN reported a 17.4 percent increase in total data revenue,
which contributed 28.3 percent to telco revenue.
Mobile Data subscriber penetration reached an average of 40%
of the total MTN Subscriber Base; which represents a base of 3.3m subscribers,
and a growth of 26% in 3G subscribers YOY.Notably, the company reported 88%
growth YOY in Mobile Data revenue, driven by a very high growth in data usage
that was propelled by the rollout of MTN’s 4GLTE network.
Leading Financial
Services (MFS) Provider
MTN Mobile Money recorded a 6.7 percent YOY increase in
active subscribers to 3.45million, and a 23% increase in revenue. The active
Mobile Financial Services subscribers constitute 52.4 percent of our registered
MFS base.
Mobile Money contributed 17.2 percent of all 2015 revenues,
representing an increase of 14.3 percent from 2014. This continued contribution
reflects the strength of the financial services offering that has been provided
the total registered mobile money based was 6.5million at year end.
Mobile Money usage was stimulated by a wider mobile
financial services product range.
LTE Network
Investment
“Our network rollout and investment plan during 2015 led to a steady
growth in network sites, to a cumulative total of 1,567 sites on the network.
This was attributed to 163 (2G)), 100 (3G) and 80 (4G LTE) sites,” the
CEO revealed.
While MTN’s 2G network covers 89 percent of Uganda total
area geographically, 3G coverage is reported at 57 percent penetration of
Uganda’s total addressable population.
CAPEX in the year ended 31 Dec 2015 amounted to UGX 240bn
and was spent largely on improving quality and capacity of the network. A total
of 163 new 2G sites and 100 co-located 3G sites were rolled out. As a result, MTN Uganda’s quality of service
continued to improve further from the last report published by the UCC in July
of 2014 which already indicated that MTN had the best quality network in
Uganda.
Financial Performance.
Consolidated revenue grew by 4.9percent YOY with Telco
revenue growing by 2.8 percent year-on-year. EBITDA margin decreased by 4.7 percentage
points to 34.5 percent. This decrease in EBITDA margin is a reflection of the
challenging operating environment associated with the shilling depreciation and
impact of One Network Area to name a few.
Commenting on the performance, MTN CEO Brian Gouldie said; “Despite
the challenging operating environment last year, our leadership position and
revenue growth was secured by our continued investment in network and
infrastructure, our wider product range on Mobile Money, increased Data
penetration propelled by a push for 3G devices on the network, coupled with
attractive Data products and serves.This has been a significant effort that is
defined by the ongoing commitment that the MTN team has displayed on delivery
on our strategic objectives”, he said.
“MTN has now been in Uganda for 18
years continuously. We remain one of the biggest capital investors in the
country. This is again reflected in our investment plan for 2016 where UGX 238bn
has been committed. Our network footprint covers the whole of Uganda and has
not only been limited to the urban areas. Our innovation and execution of
Mobile Financial services remains our flagship and we are very proud of the
very positive impact that is being made on the economy by driving financial
inclusion. Our customers remain at the center of our focus and the delivery of
more value adding products remains our priority. We are very proud of the
legacy already created and are working very hard to bring the digital world to
all Ugandan’s” he added.
MTN Group Results (Summary):
The new operating structure, together with the strong
platform, positions MTN Group well to take advantage of the next phase of
evolution in the mobile telecoms sector.
Notwithstanding the challenging operating environment, MTN
continued to benefit from its significant scale and footprint.
The Group’s subscriber base increased by 4, 1% to 232,5
million, despite the disconnection of 10,4 million subscribers to ensure
compliance with subscriber regulatory registration requirements in Nigeria and
Uganda.
About MTN Uganda
Launched in 1998, MTN Uganda is the leading communications operator in
Uganda, offering Mobile and Fixed telecommunications, Mobile Money Services and
Internet Service Provisioning. As of 31st December 2015, MTN Uganda
recorded 8.9 million subscribers across Uganda. Visit us at www.mtn.co.ug and
for our football fans www.mtnfootball.com. Customers can also follow us on
www.youtube.com/mtnug and www.twitter.com/mtnug for assistance.
