Mobile network operator MTN says ongoing network investment in Nigeria has helped to deliver on data quality to metro areas and contributed to the region’s 11,6% increase in total revenue, according to a quarterly update from the company for the period ended 31 March 2017.
The Group’s total revenue increased by 7.1%, with data revenues up by 29.4% year-on-year, and data revenue contributed 20% of total revenue. Group subscribers dropped by 1.5% quarter-on-quarter as a result of restatements to subscriber numbers in Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia, according to MTN.
MTN Group President and CEO Rob Shuter said Nigeria experienced a strong start to the year with its increase in total revenue supported by a 71.3% increase in data revenue.
However, Shuter also stated that the company’s subscriber base declined by 2.3% in the quarter, impacted by new regulations that require all subscriber connections to take place in permanent brick and mortar structures.
“This led to a marked reduction in gross connections across the industry. MTN Nigeria has also continued with the process of excluding subscribers whose only activity is receiving incoming SMS. Despite the challenging economic conditions MTN Nigeria continued to execute on its network rollout plans with a particular focus on the data network. This remains a key element in the Group’s medium-term growth strategy,” said Shuter in the update.
MTN Nigeria made headlines this week after the announcement of 280 staff being laid off on 28 April due to the enforcement of a Voluntary Severance Scheme (VSS), with the move described as being “in line with the ongoing business transformation to drive sustained growth.”
Subscriber numbers
“While our reported subscriber numbers are lower than we had expected, this is largely the result of an ongoing review of subscriber definitions. We are planning to further modernise our internal subscriber definitions to more closely align with the changing mix of revenue streams and will report on this at the end of the first half of 2017,” he continued.
While MTN Ghana experienced a 2,5 million loss in subscribers during the quarter, as a result of 3,4 million subscriber disconnections, the regional operation was reported to have been bolstered by mobile money, which is said to have contributed 13% of its total revenue.
The operator said issues such as regulation, including pricing for on-net and off-net tariffs, as well as data network shutdowns and subscriber disconnections, have also impacted on regional performance – particularly within the WECA region (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin and Guinea Bissau).
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