MTN Group has added 29 million subscribers in 2020, to reach a total of 280 million across 21 markets. Overall, MTN recorded a very strong set of operational and financial results for 2020. The company displayed business resilience under COVID-19 pressures and a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Africa’s leading mobile operator reported a 52% increase in adjusted headline earnings per share. Also, MTN recorded a 4% increase in return on equity to 17%, and a more than doubling in operating cash flow to R28,3 billion.

“We continued to perform favourably against our medium-term targets. In constant currency terms, service revenue grew 11.9% to R170 billion. And EBITDA increased by 13.4%, maintaining our strong operating leverage. The Group’s EBITDA margin improved by 0.9% to 42.7%, benefiting from the execution of our expense efficiency program”
President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita.

The solid results were supported by pleasing growth in MTN’s larger operations as well as a broad-based improvement across all regions.

Focus on COVID-19

MTN noted that it continued to prioritize the health and safety of its people. Meanwhile, the Group mourned the loss of 10 MTN employees to COVID-19. The number of MTN employees infested were 1, 404 as of the end of February 2021.

“We are pleased to have made a $25 million donation in support of the African Union’s program to secure much-needed COVID-19 vaccines. This partnership deepens MTN’s role in the ongoing work to save lives in the markets in which we operate. Importantly, it aligns with our ambition to create shared value and ensure the continent’s future progress and prosperity”.

As well as managing the risks of COVID-19, the Group remains alive to the opportunities presented by the pandemic, particularly the accelerated need for digitalization evidenced in the greater adoption and usage of MTN services.

MTN donates US$25m to support AU’s COVID-19 vaccination program

The Group noted that it will continue to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the current pandemic. MTN also indicated that the accelerated need for digitalization reflected in the greater adoption and usage of MTN services.

MoMo and Data

In 2020, MTN added 19 million data users and almost 12 million MoMo users, to reach totals of over 114 million and 46 million respectively. The Group’s networks remained well-invested, with a CAPEX of R28,6 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, MTN noted that there is headroom to accommodate the growth of more than 110% in data traffic in the year.

Furthermore, MTN revealed that it has focused on de-leveraging the holding company and it reduced net debt by R12 billion to R43 billion. MTN concluded R4,3 billion of realizations of its asset realization program (ARP). It also remains focused on completing some of its larger transactions, which did not proceed in the year due to challenging market conditions.

Moreover, MTN stated that it has suspended the final dividend for 2020 due to its near-term focus on faster de-leveraging of its holding company. The report also highlighted three conditions that negatively impacted this objective. These are related to uncertainties around cash upstreaming from Nigeria, the timing of ARP proceeds, and COVID-19 impacts.

Ambition 2025

Meanwhile, MTN also announced its re-positioned strategy for the next five years. The aim is to accelerate growth and unlock the value of its infrastructure assets and platforms.

“In light of these material uncertainties, the Board has also suspended the dividend policy and anticipates communicating a revised medium-term dividend policy when we announce our 2021 results in March 2022 “.

Ralph also noted that as part of MTN’s intention to focus on the Pan-African strategy, it has introduced ‘Ambition 2025’.

“Going forward, we believe that Ambition 2025 will position the business to capture the exciting opportunities across our markets. And our medium-term guidance has been enhanced to reflect this accelerating growth outlook. To support this, we plan to invest approximately R29.1 billion in our network, fintech and digital services platforms in 2021”.