MTN Uganda, the country’s leading telecom company, has announced a remarkable 21.4% surge in its after-tax profits, reaching UShs 493 billion for the year ending December 31, 2023. This impressive financial performance has been attributed to a significant 16.1% increase in service revenue, which totaled UShs 2.63 trillion.
Key drivers of this growth include a substantial 21.6% rise in data revenue, reaching UShs 621.9 billion, and an expansion in the number of active data subscribers by 22.4%, totaling 8.2 million. The company's overall subscriber base also saw a healthy increase of 13.3%, reaching 19.5 million.
MTN Uganda’s CEO Sylvia Mulinge said the company's financial success is a testament to its commitment to local market engagement and capital market deepening in Uganda.
"Over the course of 2024, we will explore a further sell-down of 7% shareholding to the public to broaden Ugandan shareholding and provide an opportunity to investors to own a stake in the company," Mulinge said,, underlining the company’s strategy to comply with the national regulatory requirement of listing a minimum of 20% of its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange.
This follows the initial offering in 2021 to investors across East Africa, which fell short of its target, prompting a government extension for the company to complete the sell-down in a three-year period.
Mulinge also highlighted the company's significant operational achievements and strategic investments, which have underpinned its strong financial performance.
"We've deployed an additional 350 sites with a focus on 4G LTE, enhancing coverage by 6.7 percentage points to 85.1%, while our 3G and 2G networks now cover 92.6% and 98.6% respectively," she noted.
The launch of 5G technology with 37 sites and the award for the fastest internet speeds in Uganda by Ookla were also flagged as key milestones. Additionally, the MTN Kabode programme contributed to a 26.8% growth in smartphone users, with smartphone penetration on the MTN network reaching 39.1%.
Another innovative milestone mentioned was the introduction of e-SIM technology in the fourth quarter, which provides customers with seamless carrier switching and plan management capabilities.
On the financial services front, Mulinge announced a new partnership with Ericsson aimed at expanding the capabilities of MTN's Mobile Money (MoMo) service through the Ericsson Wallet Platform, emphasizing the company’s commitment to financial inclusion and secure, convenient mobile transactions for individuals and businesses.
Looking ahead, Mulinge expressed MTN Uganda’s continued commitment to investing in network infrastructure, customer acquisition, and fintech innovation. The company is poised to further enhance its mobile data and home broadband offerings and refine its lending product through new partnerships and the Wesotinge campaign. MTN Uganda is also dedicated to meeting its National Telecom Operating Licence obligations, including achieving a 90% geographical coverage across Uganda by 2025.
In recognition of its financial success and strategic initiatives, MTN Uganda proposed a UShs 403.0 billion dividend to its shareholders, marking a substantial return on investment and underscoring the company's robust growth trajectory and commitment to shareholder value.
