Africa's largest telecommunications operator, MTN Group reported stronger results in most operations across Africa for the half year ended June 30, recording higher revenue that increased by 10.7 percent to R72.75 billion during the period. The group's first-half profit grew at 9 percent.
Headquartered in South Africa, the MTN group which has over 215 million subscribers in 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East, saw data services delivering strong results across all their markets, contributing 17.5% to total revenue, from 13.9% in the same period last year.
MTN said that the data traffic across the network grew by 84.8% to over 47 000 TB and number of data users increased by 7.3% to 88.5 million driven by 3G network expansion, enhanced data product offering and the widespread adoption of data-enabled devices and smartphones.
“Good growth was experienced in data and MTN Mobile Money usage but voice revenue continued to be impacted by aggressive competition, regulatory pressures and a weakening economic environment in key markets. MTN Nigeria delivered a robust performance in line with market expectations, however the South African operation remained under pressure and steps were taken to improve its performance. The Group continued to benefit from the ongoing investment in its network, which enhances MTN’s offering and positions us well for sustained growth.
- Sifiso Dabengwa, President and CEO, MTN Group
