MTN Group has reported that its South African operation reduced subscriber numbers by 824,768, bringing total subscribers to 24,9 million for the period ended March 2014.<\/p>\n
This, it said in a quarterly trading update, was largely due to the disconnection of\u00a0 973,064 subscribers who had been showing activity but not generating revenue as per the group’s 90 day RGS requirement.<\/p>\n
Overall group subscriber numbers advanced marginally, 1.1%, to 210 million.<\/p>\n
MTN said its SA post-paid segment delivered a satisfactory performance, growing subscribers by 3.7% to 5.2 million. “This was supported by continued growth in telemetry SIMs, segmented marketing campaigns as well as attractive converged offers,” the group said.<\/p>\n
While the pre-paid segment remained challenging, the introduction of MTN Sky, and the launch of a new pre-paid voice promotion of 79 cents per minute for both on-net and off-net calls in the second quarter, are expected to deliver improved subscriber performance going forward, MTN said.<\/p>\n
It noted that data continues to bolster revenue growth, increasing by 13.3% YoY and now contributes 22.8% of the operation’s revenue.<\/p>\n
MTN said that data subscribers increased to 14.5 million largely due to competitive data packages and the launch of its low-cost Steppa smartphone.<\/p>\n
Blended ARPU however, declined 11.3% to R100,47.<\/p>\n
“MTN South Africa remains committed to seeking a permanent resolution to the recent MTR glide path and asymmetry regulations announced by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, which came into effect on 1 April for a period of six months,” MTN said.<\/p>\n
MTN Nigeria<\/strong><\/p>\n MTN Nigeria delivered a “satisfactory” performance during the quarter and increased its subscriber base despite the one-month ban on the sale of SIMs imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for three of the four GSM operators.<\/p>\n MTN Nigeria grew its subscribers marginally to 57.2 million (0.8%) and the operation’s market share declined marginally to 49,3%, the group said.<\/p>\n “We continue to engage constructively with the NCC on quality of service KPIs and regular market activities resumed from 1 April,” MTN said.<\/p>\n The group said that it has seen strong subscriber growth post the lifting of the ban.<\/p>\n The group pointed to a significant improvement in network quality and capacity with 483 2G and 597 3G sites added during the quarter.<\/p>\n Local currency data revenue continued to grow strongly increasing by 21.1% YoY with the average data usage per customer at 41MB per month, it said.<\/p>\n “This was mainly attributable to the growth in 3G enabled devices on the network, which increased to 7.1million and improved 3G network quality and capacity,” MTN said.<\/p>\n Local currency ARPU was 3.2% lower due to lower effective tariffs.<\/p>\n MTN Group president and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa said: “Data and Mobile Money remain key areas of focus for the group as traditional voice revenue remains under pressure.<\/p>\n “We note encouraging growth in data revenues increasing 43.3% YoY and contributing MTN fibre-to-the-home product launch date<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Telkom issues cautionary over MTN deal<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
\n17.0% of total revenue and a 12.0% increase in Mobile Money subscribers.\u00a0 Cost containment and the execution of our infrastructure sharing strategy, particularly in South Africa, continue to make good progress.”<\/p>\nMore on MTN<\/h3>\n