By Chris Spillane
(Bloomberg) — MTN Group Ltd., Africa’s largest wireless operator, said subscriber numbers rose 1.8 percent to 227.5 million in the first quarter even as a declining oil price and a weaker economy affected growth. 
User numbers in Nigeria, MTN’s biggest market, increased 2.1 percent to 61.1 million in the three months through March, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Thursday. In South Africa, the operator’s second-largest market, they were little changed at 28 million. The company operates in 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East.
MTN was “impacted by a weaker macro-economic environment following the reduction in the price of oil in 2014 and continued price competition,” Chief Executive Officer Sifiso Dabengwa said in the statement. MTN Nigeria showed “improved subscriber growth trends although revenue and minutes growth remains a challenge.”
MTN has been cutting costs and exploring potential acquisitions as revenue shrinks in its home market, where it trails crosstown rival Vodacom Group Ltd. in terms of customer numbers. The company is trying to boost data revenue amid price competition and regulatory pressures in its biggest markets. – BLOOMBERG
Highlights from SENS :
– Satisfactory subscriber growth of 1,8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), adding 4,1 million subscribers
– Muted subscriber growth in South Africa due to delays in engaging a replacement distributor and reduced handset sales
– Satisfactory subscriber growth in Nigeria of 2,1%, despite a weakening macro-economic environment
– Registered Mobile Money subscribers across the Group of 27,4 million, up 23,2% QoQ across 14 operations
– Reported data revenue increased by 16,7% year-on-year (YoY), now contributing 20,8% to total revenue, organic data revenues increased 24,0% YoY.
MTN Group president and CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa comments:
“MTN’s results for the quarter were impacted by a weaker macro-economic environment following the reduction in the price of oil in 2014 and continued price competition. MTN Nigeria is improved subscriber growth trends although revenue and minutes growth remains a challenge. While South African operation’s subscriber growth was impacted by seasonality and some operational challenges, revenue growth was encouraging.
“We continue to focus on our non-voice services which remain the key driver of the Group’s revenue growth. In the quarter, we bolstered our management team to facilitate growth in these areas. We appointed a Group chief consumer officer and have made provision for the appointment of an executive for our digital business. Data revenue increased by 16,7% as we expanded our 3G and LTE networks and stimulated the adoption of data-enabled devices and smartphones.”
For the full MTN’s results – click here to access.
