As of 31 March 2014, MTN Uganda has registered positive performance for the first quarter ended 31st March 2014, increasing its subscriber base by 8.4% to 9.5 million, mainly attributed to attractive bundled offers aimed at both acquisition and retention. Regionally focused sales and distribution campaigns further supported the performance.
The MTN Group Results recently released in Johannesburg South Africa also shows that Local currency data revenue increased by 67.7 % and now contributes to 23.5 % of MTN’s revenue. At MTN Group level, subscriber base has shot up to 210, 1 million subscribers up from 207.8 million subscribers registered at the year ending 31st December 2013.
According to the results, MTN Uganda continued to show good growth and increased market share despite the high competition in Ugandan market. Increased penetration into rural areas and improved network quality further supported this growth.
Announcing the quarterly Group update, the MTN Group President and CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa said;
“MTN delivered a satisfactory performance in the 1st during the first quarter of 2014, underpinned by strong data growth, competitive offerings and improved network quality and coverage. Our operating environment remains tough with persistent price competition and regulatory challenges in key markets. Subscriber numbers grew marginally by 1.1% quarter on quarter from December 2013. This was mainly due to ban on the sale of SIM cards in Nigeria during March, the disconnection of non-revenue generating subscribers in South Africa and slower subscriber growth in Iran.”
He added: “Data and Mobile Money remain key areas of focus for the group as traditional voice revenue and a 12% increase in Mobile Money subscribers. Cost containment and the execution of our infrastructure sharing strategy particularly in South Africa continues to make good progress.”
MTN’s vision is to lead the delivery of a bold, new Digital World to its customers. As MTN continues to fulfill this promise it remains committed to continue to improve the lives of Ugandans by consistently fulfilling our promise to provide consistent service and the best customer experience.
Commenting on the results, MTN Uganda CEO Mazen Mroué expressed satisfaction with the results saying that MTN Uganda’s focus to enhance our infrastructure investment Customer Experience”.
Regarding the continued growth of MTN Mobile Money, Mroué said, “MTN Mobile Money remains the fastest growing product in Uganda with more than 5 million registered users each transacting on average five times a month. The popularity and growth of MTN Mobile Money supported by a large agent network exceeded 30,000 agents and significantly increased financial inclusion of the unbanked.
In 2013, MTN Uganda focused largely on the expansion of the data network infrastructure and was the first in the market to introduce word class internet technologies through the 3G 42Mbps, 4G LTE and WiFi Hotspots. As of 31st March 2014, MTN Uganda total Data subscribers exceeded 2.6 million.
MTN Uganda launched its Mobile Network operations in 1998, since inception MTN cumulative investment exceeded UGX 1.7 Trillion. In 2013, the company has injected more than UGX 140 billion in upgrading the Network infrastructure and adding another 400Km of national fiber, by December 2013, MTN Uganda Total Fiber infrastructure exceeded 3,200 Km. The continuous investment by MTN in Uganda has enabled job creation with direct and indirect support for over 560,000 Ugandans.
Mroué hailed the MTN Uganda staff for their contribution and support in achieving these positive results.
“At MTN we recognize our staff as a key asset in enabling this success. As we move into 2014, our focus will be primarily on providing distinctive Customer Experience as well as ensuring consistent investment in key infrastructure to support the anticipated continued growth and increased demand for new digital services,” concluded.