MTN Uganda has announced an interim dividend of UGX 6.6 per share, totaling UGX 147.8 billion, as a reward to shareholders for the company’s strong financial performance in the first half of 2024.
This dividend, which will be paid out on September 20, 2024, comes after the company reported a remarkable 29.7% increase in net profit, reaching UGX 295.7 billion. The impressive growth in net profit was driven by substantial gains across voice, data, and fintech services.
The company’s voice revenue surged by 15.1% to UGX 626.7 billion, while data and fintech services experienced even more significant growth. Data revenues rose by 28.6% toUGX 373.3 billion, and fintech services saw a 23.5% increase, reaching UGX 442.3 billion.
This strong performance across its core services led to an overall service revenue increase of 20.4%, amounting to UGX 1.5 trillion. MTN Uganda’s subscriber base also expanded, with mobile subscribers growing by 14.6% to 20.7 million.
The telecommunications giant also reported a 22.4% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), reaching UGX 784.7 billion. This growth reflects the company’s strategic alignment with Uganda’s broader economic expansion, which saw a 6.0% growth during the 2023/24 financial year.
CEO Sylvia Mulinge attributed the company’s success to strategic investments aimed at enhancing network quality, capacity, and resilience, particularly in 4G and 5G technologies.
“We invested UGX 219.1 billion in network improvements, resulting in a 4.4 percentage point increase in 4G LTE population coverage to 87.8% and an expanded 5G rollout to 538 strategic sites, achieving full coverage of Kampala,” Mulinge said. She also highlighted that MTN’s 2G and 3G population coverage increased to 98.9% and 93.2%, respectively.
Advancing the Fintech Ecosystem
In the fintech space, Mulinge emphasized MTN’s commitment to advancing the ecosystem by enhancing customer appreciation of advanced services and expanding core offerings.
A notable achievement was the introduction of a comprehensive loan suite, Wesotinge, in partnership with five financial institutions, designed to address customers’ short- and long-term liquidity needs.
Additionally, the company introduced a short-term credit facility, Merchant Xtra Stock, and increased cashpoints for agent top-ups, leading to a 25.2% year-on-year increase in transaction volumes to 2.0 billion.
Future Outlook and Commitment
Looking ahead, MTN Uganda’s Chief Finance Officer, Andrew Bugembe, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering mid-teen service revenue growth, maintaining stable EBITDA margins above 50%, and managing capital expenditure intensity at mid-teen levels.
“Leveraging our network investments, we are dedicated to providing reliable and affordable voice and data services to empower our loyal customer base,” Bugembe stated. He emphasized that continued investments, especially in 5G and 4G LTE, will enhance customer experience and sustain the momentum achieved in the first half of the year.
Richard Yego, Managing Director of MTN Mobile Money Uganda Ltd, also noted that the company would continue to prioritize liquidity requirements for its merchants and agents while developing solutions to encourage cashless transactions.
He assured that the Bank of Uganda’s directive for mandatory verification of customers conducting mobile money transactions above Shs 1 million has not adversely affected fintech services.
With a strong performance in the first half of 2024 and continued strategic investments, MTN Uganda is well-positioned to maintain its growth trajectory and deliver value to its shareholders and customers.
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