MTN Group on Monday cautioned that competitors in South Africa’s telecommunications sector is intensifying.
Consequently, the buyer pay as you go enterprise in South Africa recorded year-on-year service income development of simply 0.8%, with a “slight slowdown” to 0.3% yr on yr within the ultimate three months of 2024.
“This was largely resulting from elevated aggressive depth available in the market as we elevated costs in Might 2024 and value-seeking clients continued to optimise their spend,” the group stated in notes revealed with its outcomes for the monetary yr ended 31 December 2024.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t all unhealthy information, with post-paid development exhibiting strong development. There was additionally an enchancment within the decline of legacy voice providers, with income there falling by 5.5% yr on yr (from -12.1% in 2023).
“MTN South Africa sustained a resilient total efficiency with service income development of three.1% for the yr, underpinned by community availability enhancements and industrial initiatives,” the group stated.
“Whereas whole service income moderated barely to 2.5% within the fourth quarter, largely resulting from base results and decrease pay as you go efficiency, the enterprise delivered some encouraging acceleration in key industrial metrics within the latter a part of the yr. Pay as you go information returned to development from November as we started to anniversary (sic) the affect of bundle restoration.”
Subscriber development
MTN South Africa reported sturdy subscriber development, with a 6.4% enhance to 39.8 million – a web addition of two.4 million to its base. Submit-paid subscribers (excluding telemetry) elevated by 6.1% to 4.3 million, pushed by stronger uptake of residence propositions in addition to built-in voice and information plans. Pay as you go clients elevated 5.5% to 29.9 million.
Complete information income rose by 2.9%, with an “encouraging acceleration” in development to five.5% within the fourth quarter – and contributed 47.8% to MTN South Africa’s whole service income. This development was pushed by a 6.8% enhance in lively information subscribers to 21.8 million, with a year-on-year enhance in information visitors of 28.3%.
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Information consumption per lively pay as you go information subscriber amounted to three.2GB/month (up 9.5% yr on yr), whereas an lively post-paid information subscriber’s consumption has elevated to 22.5GB/month (up 36.6%) with the majority of that development attributed to fixed-wireless entry as extra clients undertake residence web propositions.
MTN South Africa’s enterprise enterprise continued its turnaround, delivering service income development of 10.8% in 2024.
Wholesale income (together with incoming voice) declined by 0.4%, with the fourth quarter of 2024 affected by larger income recognised for community companion Cell C in the identical quarter in 2023. Excluding incoming voice, wholesale income declined by 0.9%.
Cellular Cash can also be exhibiting good development, albeit off a low base, MTN stated.
MTN South Africa’s Ebitda – earnings earlier than curiosity, tax, depreciation and amortisation – rose by 5.1%. “Ebitda, which included a acquire ensuing from lease terminations, grew forward of service income as MTN South Africa’s concerted expense effectivity initiatives yielded vital advantages,” the group stated. Ebitda margin was 1.3 proportion factors larger at 37.4%.
“Wanting forward, the native macroeconomic surroundings seems to be on a stabilising development. Nevertheless, the South African economic system stays beneath some stress given the excessive ranges of unemployment and sluggish GDP development,” MTN stated.
“With the improved traits within the inflation fee and the current rate of interest reductions, there may be some optimism on customers’ skill to extend financial exercise. This could help the anticipated restoration in information efficiency within the first and second quarters of 2025.
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“Pay as you go service income development is predicted to stay beneath stress within the first quarter. Nevertheless, MTN South Africa is repositioning its propositions to pay as you go clients, with initiatives already carried out from February into early March 2025. These embody enhancing regionalised and personalised presents, in addition to elevated focus within the channels to enhance the expansion trajectory from the second quarter.” — © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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