MTN records GH¢2.33bn profit, about 36% increase; subscribers hit 28.4 million
MTN Ghana recorded a profit of GH¢2.33 billion in the first half of 2024, about 36% year-on-year increase.
According to its unaudited financial statement, MTN Ghana delivered a 31.2% year-on-year increase in service revenue. This growth was driven by higher data, Mobile Money and digital revenues; supported by enhanced 4G connectivity and a 3.9% year-on-year expansion in the subscriber base.
The company also invested GH¢2.8 billion in total capex to maintain network quality, expand coverage and capacity, and enhance our IT systems.
This served its nationwide customer base of 28.4 million, which reflected 0.6 million additional customers connected in the second quarter.
Voice revenue falls by 3.1%
Voice revenue decreased by 3.1% year-on-year to GH¢1.7 billion as customers switched to lower-priced plans. This was mitigated by increased voice usage (+13.7% year-on-year in minutes of use) as the firm stimulated higher engagement through its customer value management initiatives. These interventions also helped to reduce customer churn.
The contribution of voice to total service revenue decreased from 29.1% to 21.5% year-on-year, in favour of faster-growing products and services.
Data revenue grew strongly
Data revenue continued to grow strongly, up by 55.0% year-on-year to GH¢4.0 billion. This was supported by a 15.9% year-on-year increase in active data subscribers and a 7.2% year-on-year rise in megabytes consumed per active user per month which underpinned a 24.2% year-on-year growth in data traffic during the period.
The contribution of data revenue to total service revenue increased from 41.5% to 49.0% year-on-year.
Mobile money growth increased by 44.8%
Mobile Money revenue increased by 44.8% year-on-year to GH¢1.9 billion.
This was supported by a 16.2% year-on-year increase in the active user base as it continues to improve its digital financial solutions offering.
Consequently, this led to the growth in advanced services of +73.3% year-on-year, while cash-out services (+33.0% year-on-year) and peer-to-peer transactions (+43.1% year-on-year) also sustained robust growth trajectories.
The overall contribution of Mobile Money revenue to total service revenue increased from 21.7% to 24.0% year-on-year.
Digital revenue grew strongly
Digital revenue grew strongly, increasing by 59.4% year-on-year to 101.4 million.
This was primarily driven by video, gaming and ring-back tones.
The enhancement of customer experience and a continued focus on providing locally and internationally relevant digital offerings contributed to this growth. The number of ayoba users increased by 14.8% year-on-year to reach 2.9 million.
The MyMTN app also saw several improvements and reached a user base of 1.6 million, with over 0.4 million daily users. Several more improvements and new features are planned for the second half of the year to offer an even better digital experience for customers.
The contribution of digital to total service revenue increased from 1.0% to 1.3% year-on-year.
Commenting, MTN Ghana Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Blewett, said “MTN Ghana delivered strong results in the first half of 2024, despite the difficult macroeconomic conditions. This reflects the resilience of the business and our ability to provide essential connectivity solutions to our customers. We have also been able to increase financial inclusion, supporting the further development of the country”.
Outlook
MTN Ghana said it will continue to invest to develop its platforms and improve its network and services to unlock value for stakeholders in line with our Ambition 2025 strategy.
“We continue to explore efficiency measures, preserve liquidity and strengthen the balance sheet against a backdrop of election-related and macroeconomic uncertainties. MTN Ghana maintains its medium-term guidance of high twenties (in percentage terms) growth in service revenue”, it explained.