MTN’s revenue jump, gains supply for Afghanistan business

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 11 (Reuters) – South African mobile operator MTN Group ( MTNJ.J ) said first-half revenue rose 46.5 percent and secured a $35 million bond offering for its Afghanistan business. east.

Without disclosing the buyer, group CEO Ralph Mupita told reporters on a news call that the total payment of $35 million will be made over a period of time and the proceeds will be $31 million.

The completion of the deal will complete MTN’s exit from the Middle East market by selling MTN and leaving MTN Syria, he added. The 49% financial investment in Irancell will continue to be managed in MTN’s portfolio. Read more

In the year In 2020, MTN announced its exit from the Middle East to focus on its core African operations in an effort to simplify its structure and reduce exposure to risk-sensitive markets.

MTN, which operates in 19 markets, reported earnings per share of 567 cents in South Africa’s main measure of profit in the six months, up from 387 cents a year earlier.

Group service revenue rose 14.8% to 92.5 billion rand ($5.71 billion), boosted by demand for data services at MTN South Africa 4.1%, MTN Nigeria ( MTNN.LG ) 19.9% ​​and MTN Ghana ( MTNGH.GH ) 29.3%.

Data revenue grew 35.9%, supported by a 14.2% year-over-year growth in active data subscribers and a 25.5% increase in data usage. Voice revenue, the largest service revenue generator, increased 1.9% as cash-strapped consumers in South Africa replaced voice calls with data calls.

Fintech revenue increased 14 percent, impacted by a deliberate decision to reduce peer-to-peer pricing as well as the introduction of new fintech taxes and levies in some markets, including Ghana.

MTN said it had cut prices to reduce pressure on customers, which had an impact on transaction costs.

($1 = 16.1937 rand)

Reporting by Nkobile Dludla in Johannesburg, Cinchita Mitra and Amna Karimi in Bengaluru Editing by Sriraj Kalvila and Mark Potter

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