Accra, Ghana//- Scancom PLC, the parent company of MTN Ghana has defied economic headwinds faced by the Ghanaian economy to positive impressive financial results in its first half year (H1) 2024.
Updating shareholders on the company’s performance for the first six months of 2024 at the Ghana Stock Exchange ‘s (GSE’s) Facts Behind the Figures for listed companies on the local bourse, CEO of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett attributed the phenomenal performance to strong
growth in data, digital, and Mobile Money (MoMo) revenue.
He indicated that in H1 2024, MTN Ghana delivered a 31.2% year-on-year (YoY) increase in service revenue. This growth was driven by higher data, Mobile Money (MoMo) and digital revenues; supported by enhanced 4G connectivity and a 3.9% YoY expansion in the subscriber base.
Mr Blewett said the telecom company invested GHS2.8 billion in total capex to maintain network quality, expand coverage and capacity, as well as to enhance our IT systems.
This served our nationwide customer base of 28.4 million, which reflected 0.6 million additional customers connected in the second quarter. Voice revenue decreased by 3.1% YoY to GHS1.7 billion as customers switched to lower-priced plans.
This was mitigated by an increase in voice usage (+13.7% YoY in minutes of use) as we stimulated higher engagement through our customer value management initiatives. These interventions also helped to reduce customer churn, according to him.
Data revenue continued to grow strongly, up by 55.0% YoY to GHS4.0 billion.
This was supported by a 15.9% YoY increase in active data subscribers and a 7.2% YoY rise in megabytes consumed per active user per month, which underpinned a 24.2% YoY growth in data traffic in the period.
The contribution of data revenue to total service revenue increased from 41.5% to 49.0% YoY. Mobile Money revenue increased by 44.8% YoY to GHS1.9 billion. This was supported by a 16.2% YoY increase in the active user base as we continue to improve our digital financial solutions offering, he added.
Consequently, this led to the growth in advanced services of +73.3% YoY, while cash-out services (+33.0% YoY) and peer-to-peer transactions (+43.1% YoY) also sustained robust growth trajectories.
The overall contribution of MoMo revenue to total service revenue increased from 21.7% to 24.0% YoY. Digital revenue grew strongly, increasing by 59.4% YoY to GHS101.4 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% YoY 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.
The contribution of voice to total service revenue decreased from 29.1% to 21.5% YoY, in favour of faster-growing products and services.
Profit after tax of GHS 2.33 billion in the challenging economy
The impressive performance he noted enabled the company to generate a significant profit after tax of GHS 2.3 billion in the challenging Ghanaian economy. The whopping profit of GHS 2.3 billion rose by 36.3% compared to that of 2023 within the same period.
Several more improvements and new features are planned for the second half of the year to offer an even better digital experience for our customers. The contribution of digital to total service revenue increased from 1.0% to 1.3% YoY.
Throwing more light on the figures, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of MTN Ghana, Madam Antoinette Kwofie said during the period under review, inflation continued to exert an upward pressure on expenses, with total costs up by 31.3% YoY to GHS3.6 billion.
She experienced that the telecom giant mitigated this impact through the continued execution of cost-reduction initiatives under the company’s expense efficiency programme, and this supported a 31.3% YoY expansion in EBITDA to GHS4.6 billion; with the EBITDA margin being maintained at 56.1%.
During the period, depreciation and amortization increased by 37.7% YoY. Finance cost declined by 11.5% YoY on the back of a reduction in loan balances and interest rates”, Mrs Kwofie added.
On the other hand, finance income increased by 49.8% YoY, driven by gains on investments in call and fixed-term deposits. Consequently, net finance costs declined by 44.9% YoY.
The direct tax charge for the period was GHS1.0 billion, representing a 37.3% increase over the same period in 2023. As a result, profit after tax increased by 36.3% YoY to GHS2.3 billion.
