MTN grows stronger with $182 million profit

Nigeria’s mobile sector lives up to global forecast as
MTN’s half year profit shores up previous posting by
80 per cent … Segun Oruame

Mobile Telecommunications Nigeria (MTN) Limited
recorded N24.6 billion (about $182 million) as six
months profit between March and September last year to
firm up its performance for the 2002 financial year.
Chairman Paschal Dozie announced this in Lagos at a
training sponsored by the operator for journalists
inside the Lagos Business School.
 

Adrian Wood

The 2003 rake up of N24.6 billion is a Profit After
Tax (PAT) balance indicating an 80 per cent increase
over its 2002 performance. The 2002 PAT was N13.2
billion (about $ 9.7 million) indicating a steady
climb for the operator despite negative country
perception, rising inflation and a volatile naira, the
country’s local currency.

Nigeria’s has proven to be good investment for telecom
operators though it is dotted red on the global map
for prospective investors. With over 130 million
people (projection is also put at as high as 150
million) and a vibrant informal sector, Nigeria has
the largest potential market on the continent. Over 90
per cent of the market is untapped.

MTN is Nigeria’s largest mobile network operator with
over 1.65 million active subscribers of the about 3.2
million mobile lines in the national network since
2001 when GSM services took off. Closest rival
Vnetwork (formally Econet Nigeria and ex Vodacom
Nigeria) is enmeshed in series of boardroom and
financial crises that has slowed its rollout. With
about 1.07 million subscribers, Vnetwork is a distance
second behind MTN.

Full year financial report for MTN would be made in
Johannesburg, headquarters of the pan-African operator
that is steadily setting up presence in several of the
continent’s undeveloped markets.

MTN is already in Rwanda, Cameroon, Swaziland and
Uganda in addition to its South Africa home base. Its
most promising market and Africa’s biggest Nigeria
brings to six its areas of operations in Africa. Total
subscription in the six markets is about 8.92 million.
Its decade old and oldest South African market has
over six million of this nearly nine million
subscribers.

Projection for 2005 is over 12 million with Nigeria
expected to have a good share of this growth. The MTN
Group in Johannesburg, which just signed two five year
$1.5 billion agreements with Ericsson, recently lost
out to Celtel in its bid to buy into Kencell of Kenya.
Celtel acquire the 60 per cent stake on offer in
Kencell for $250 million but Nigeria’s leading
operator is not relaxing on its aggressive pan
-continental vision. Its board has eyes on growing
the network as

Sharing Goodies
MTN Nigeria said it would not keep its earnings to
itself. One per cent of its yearly profit will go into
a new foundation set up by the company to dispense
social responsibilities. The new body, MTN Nigeria
Foundation was announced by Chairman Dozie. The
foundation would in Dozie’s words “integrate social
responsibility function into the broader business
strategy of the company.”
 

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