Although its subscriber growth has been impacted by price competition and registration regulations, MTN has reported 203,8-million subscribers as at the end of the third quarter.
With the South African market still challenging, the operator has reported growth of 10,4% for Nigeria.
Other highlights for the quarter include strong data growth – at 34,7% – and a total of 13,4-million mobile money users now online.
MTN group president and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa comments: “The third quarter has been characterised by lower than anticipated subscriber growth following ongoing price competition and subscriber registration requirements across a number of markets.
“Subscriber growth was limited to 1,1% quarter-on-quarter mainly impacted by disconnections in Nigeria related to registration requirements, slower than expected subscriber growth in South Africa, as well as slower subscriber growth in Iran.
“During the quarter the group continued to focus on segmented competitive voice and data tariffs and improving network quality to cater for increased traffic. Data and mobile money remain a key focus for the group with traditional voice revenue under pressure.
“Data revenue for the group increased by 34,7% year-on-year, contributing 14,1% to total revenue while mobile money subscribers increased 10,7% quarter-on-quarter to 13,4-million across 13 operations.”
MTN South Africa showed some progress after a challenging first half but conditions are expected to remain challenging for the balance of 2013.
The operation added 233 000 subscribers bringing the total of subscribers to 25,2-million at the end of the quarter.
The prepaid segment grew its subscriber base marginally, gaining some traction through its revised MTN Zone offering and the launch of a competitive international calling campaign.
The post-paid segment delivered a satisfactory performance driven by segmented marketing campaigns and attractive classic and hybrid packages.
Revenue growth declined, mainly due to lower effective voice tariffs and slower subscriber growth. Data remains the largest contributor to revenue growth with an increase of 16,6% (year-on-year). Data users increased to 13,9-million.
MTN South Africa continues to engage with the regulator on the proposed draft interconnect regulations.
MTN Nigeria delivered a satisfactory performance, maintaining market share, in a highly competitive market. Subscribers grew marginally to 55,6-million. This was impacted by the mandatory SIM registration deadline in July 2013, the disconnections in the Borneo state following the shutdown of services as well as lower gross connections in the GSM market.
The key focus during the quarter was on improving network quality and introducing more value added services to customers. There has been a significant improvement in network quality with 812 2G and 497 3G sites added in the quarter. The quality and capacity of the network now meet regulatory KPIs allowing MTN to implement promotional products and services. Segmented product offerings remain a focus as price competition persists.
Local currency revenue showed encouraging growth, ahead of guidance, increasing 10,4% for the quarter over the comparable prior year quarter. Local currency data revenue continues to grow strongly and 3G coverage and effective data pricing remains a priority. Local currency ARPU remained relatively stable.