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MTN Group Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1994/009584/06)
(Share code MTN)
(ISIN: ZAE000042164)
(MTN or the Company or the Group)
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023
MTN is a pan-African mobile operator with the strategic intent of ‘Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress’.
We have 291 million customers in 19 markets and are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits
of a modern connected life.
Highlights
■ Group service revenue grew by 15.6% (15.1%*), supported by:
– voice revenue growth of 6.6% (4.7%*);
– data revenue up by 26.9% (27.6%*); and
– acceleration in fintech revenue of 11.5% (17.9%*).
■ Total subscribers increased by 5.2% to 290.6 million.
■ Active data subscribers up by 11.9% to 140.4 million.
■ Active Mobile Money (MoMo) users up by 5.2% to 61.7 million.
■ Data traffic increased by 19.3% to 3 221.26 PB.
■ Fintech transaction volumes increased by 38.8% to 4.1 billion.
* Constant currency information after accounting for the impact of the pro forma adjustments as defined.
% change
% change constant
Rm 1Q 23 1Q 22 reported currency
Group service revenue 52 831 45 697 15.6% 15.1%
– South Africa 10 108 9 974 1.3% 1.3%
– Nigeria 21 744 17 308 25.6% 20.4%
Group EBITDA^ 24 264 22 335 8.6% 11.0%
– South Africa 4 554 4 889 -6.9% -6.9%
– Nigeria 11 627 9 475 22.7% 17.7%
Group EBITDA margin 43.7% 46.4% -2.7 pp -1.6 pp
– South Africa 36.1% 39.9% -3.8 pp -3.8 pp
– Nigeria 53.3% 54.6% -1.3 pp -1.3 pp
Capex (ex-leases) 6 375 7 048 -9.5%
– Capex intensity 11.5% 14.7%
^Excludes gain on disposal of SA towers (R16 million) and impairment of Afghanistan PPE and intangibles (R181 million).
Unless otherwise stated, financial and non-financial growth rates are presented on a constant currency basis and are
year-on-year (YoY, 3M to March 2023 versus 3M to March 2022).
Service revenue excludes device and SIM card revenue. Data revenue is mobile and fixed access data and excludes roaming
and wholesale. Fintech includes MoMo, insurance, airtime lending and e-commerce. Active data users are a count of all
subscribers at a point in time which had a revenue generating event in the specified period (90 days) prior to that point in time
and during the past 30 days had data usage greater than or equal to five megabytes. MoMo users are 30-day active users.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 1
Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita comments:
Navigating a difficult operating environment
“MTN’s resilient business model and operational execution enabled us to continue to successfully navigate difficult
macroeconomic, geopolitical and regulatory conditions in Q1 2023.
The blended inflation across our footprint remained elevated and averaged 18.5% in Q1 2023, compared to 11.5%
in Q1 2022. Interest rates increased during the period as central banks acted to curb inflation. Higher inflation
and interest rates weighed on consumers’ spending power and impacted business activity.
Local currencies generally weakened against the dollar, and foreign exchange availability was limited in several of
our key markets affecting the pace of capital expenditure and our ability to upstream dividends and management
fees.
Over and above reduced economic activity in South Africa, MTN South Africa’s (MTN SA) network availability
remained under pressure due to ongoing power outages across the country: there were approximately 90 days of
loadshedding in Q1 2023 compared to 14 days in Q1 2022.
Solid operational execution
Against this challenging backdrop we continued to implement proactive measures to sustain top-line growth and
mitigate against inflationary pressures. In support of these interventions, we invested R6.4 billion in our networks
and platforms in Q1. This to support the structurally higher demand we see in our markets for data (traffic up
19.3% YoY) and fintech (transaction volumes up 38.8% YoY).
MTN SA advanced the comprehensive network resilience plan, with improving network availability as we exited
the quarter. The teams upgraded additional sites with batteries and started piloting solar solutions on a limited
number of sites as well as deploying additional security solutions where there is high risk of theft or vandalism.
Overall service revenue grew by 15.1%* and was in line with our medium-term target. MTN Nigeria, MTN Ghana
and MTN Uganda delivered double-digit service revenue growth. MTN SA delivered positive service revenue
growth (up 1.3%) against the severe impacts of loadshedding in the quarter.
Group EBITDA increased by 11.0%*, with an EBITDA margin of 43.9%* (Q1 2022: 45.5%*) that was impacted by
higher inflation across our markets in addition to increased costs associated with site rollouts in Nigeria and
Ghana, as well as our network resilience plan in South Africa. We remained focused on our expense
efficiency programme to contain the effects of higher inflation in the period.
Our Q1 results were underpinned by solid commercial execution, which drove growth of 5.2% in our overall
subscriber base to 290.6 million, despite headwinds such as loadshedding in South Africa and SIM registration in
Ghana. Active data subscribers and MoMo users were up 11.9% (to 140.4 million) and 5.2% (to 61.7 million)
respectively.
Balance sheet and liquidity positions
The Group leverage of 0.3x as at 31 March 2023 (31 December 2022: 0.3x) remained comfortably within our
loans covenant limit. Holding company (Holdco) leverage – while slightly up to 0.9x (31 December 2022: 0.8x) due
mainly to foreign exchange movements – was also well within our medium-term target. We maintained a strong
liquidity position, with headroom of R57.2 billion (R20.5 billion in cash, and R36.7 billion in committed undrawn
facilities) as at 31 March 2023.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 2
MTN Group Limited
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023
We upstreamed cash of R1.6 billion from our operating companies in the first three months of 2023. In addition
we repatriated R987 million of localisation proceeds from MTN Nigeria in Q1.
The Group elected for a scrip dividend option for the FY 22 dividend at MTN Nigeria’s 18 April 2023
Annual General Meeting (AGM). This will increase the Group’s effective shareholding from 75.6% to 76.2% after
finalisation. We believe this will provide a more favourable short-term store of value for our investment as we
manage the nearer-term challenges in upstreaming cash from the country. Using the same rationale, the
Group will consider a scrip dividend option from MTN, Ghana conditional upon its approval at the upcoming
AGM on 30 May 2023.
Strategic progress
We continued the process of engagement, on a bespoke basis, with select potential strategic minority
investors into the Group fintech business. We are well progressed on engagements on commercial
agreements that are aimed at ensuring that any strategic minority investment also supports the acceleration of
growth of our fintech platform. We anticipate the conclusion of this process during Q2 2023.
Aligned with MTN’s portfolio optimisation focus within our Ambition 2025 strategy, the Company
continuously assesses our investments, with the aim of improving returns and reducing risk. In line with this
focus, MTN Group is evaluating an orderly exit of three operations in West Africa over the medium-term; namely
MTN Guinea-Bissau, MTN Guinea-Conakry and MTN Liberia. In this regard, the Group has received an offer for
our equity interests in these Opcos, from Axian Telecom, which is being evaluated.
As at 31 March 2023, the combined subscriber base of the three Opcos represented approximately 6.1 million
of the Group’s total 291 million subscribers, and contributed 0.7% to EBITDA.
As we are at an early stage of deliberations, we emphasise that any process of this nature will entail
extensive engagements with stakeholders who will be appropriately informed as and when the evaluation
process has materially progressed.
The process to exit Afghanistan in an orderly fashion through the sale of MTN’s entire shareholding to a
wholly-owned subsidiary of M1 remains on track, with regulatory engagements well progressed.
Group medium-term guidance maintained
We maintain our capex guidance for 2023 at R37.4 billion, cognisant of the potential impact of volatility in
local exchange rates against the dollar as well as our work to accelerate MTN SA’s comprehensive network
resilience plan, which is a key focus in the coming quarters to materially improve network availability in H2
2023.
As we manage the ongoing challenges in our trading environment, and the near-term impacts on our top-line
and margin evolution, we maintain our medium-term guidance. We will remain focused on implementing the
initiatives to continue expanding our connectivity and platform ecosystems in order to sustain growth in the
business, as well as executing on our Ambition 2025 strategic priorities.”
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 3
The Group’s results and segmental report are presented in line with the Group’s operational structure. The Group’s underlying
operations are clustered as follows: South Africa (SA), Nigeria, the Southern and East Africa (SEA) region, the West and Central
Africa (WECA) region and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and their respective underlying operations.
The SEA region includes Uganda, Zambia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Botswana (joint venture-equity accounted), eSwatini (joint
venture-equity accounted) and Business Group. The WECA region includes Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Congo-
Brazzaville, Liberia, Guinea-Conakry and Guinea-Bissau. The MENA region includes Iran (joint venture-equity accounted), Sudan
and Afghanistan.
Although Iran, Botswana and eSwatini form part of their respective regions geographically and operationally, they are excluded
from their respective regional results because they are equity accounted for by the Group.
MTN Syria results have been disclosed up to February for 2021; as a result of loss of control effective February 2021, following
MTN Syria being placed under judicial guardianship. MTN Yemen results have been disclosed up to end of October 2021, as a
result of MTN’s decision to exit the operation.
Certain information presented in this quarterly update constitutes pro forma financial information. The responsibility for
preparing and presenting the pro forma financial information and for the completeness and accuracy of the pro forma financial
information is that of the directors of MTN. This is presented for illustrative purposes only. Because of its nature, the pro forma
financial information may not fairly present MTN’s financial position, changes in equity, and results of operations or cash flows.
It has not been audited or reviewed or otherwise reported on by our external joint auditors. The financial information on which
this quarterly update is based, including constant currency information, has not been reviewed and reported on by MTN’s
external auditors. Constant currency information has been presented to remove the impact of movement in currency rates on
the Group’s results and has been calculated by translating the prior financial reporting period’s results at the current period’s
average rates. The measurement has been performed for each of the Group’s currencies, materially being that of the US dollar
and Nigerian naira. The constant currency growth percentage has been calculated based on the prior period constant currency
results compared to the current year results. In addition, in respect of MTN Irancell, MTN Sudan and MTN South Sudan the
constant currency information has been prepared excluding the impact of hyperinflation. The economies of Sudan, South Sudan
and Iran were assessed to be hyperinflationary for the period under review and hyperinflation accounting was applied.
This quarterly update may contain forward-looking information. Any forecast information on which the quarterly update may be
based has not been reviewed or reported on by the Group’s external auditors.
Operational review
Listed Opcos’ published Q1 2023 results
The published Q1 results of our listed Opcos can be viewed at:
• MTN Nigeria:
https://www.mtn.ng/about-us/investor/financial-reporting/quarterly-results/
• MTN Ghana:
https://mtn.com.gh/investors/
• MTN Uganda:
https://www.mtn.co.ug/investors/financial-reports/
• MTN Rwanda:
https://www.mtn.co.rw/investors-financial-reporting/
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 4
MTN SA
MTN SA’s performance was resilient in Q1 against a trading environment that remained challenging.
The economy remained under pressure with rising inflation and ongoing volatility in the rand against
the dollar. Inflation averaged 7.0% in the quarter (Q1 2022: 5.8%) – above the upper limit of the South
African Reserve Bank (SARB) target range of 3-6% – putting additional pressure on our customers
and business operations. In an effort to contain this, the SARB hiked interest rates by an additional
0.5pp in the period, following 3.0pp of hikes in 2022.
The extent of power outages in the country remained elevated with 90 days of loadshedding during
the quarter, compared to 14 in Q1 2022. This heavily disrupted network availability, on a YoY basis,
which affected MTN SA’s growth trajectory; especially in its voice segment.
In this context, MTN SA achieved relatively resilient service revenue growth of 1.3%, with voice (down
16.0%) being the key drag on overall performance. In the tough trading environment, MTN SA grew the
total number of subscribers by 4.1% YoY to 35.9 million.
Data continued to be a key growth driver for the business, contributing 47.9% to MTN SA’s total
service revenue in Q1. Mobile data revenue grew by 9.0% YoY, on the back of an 11.2% increase in
active data users to 19.3 million and 19.5% growth in data traffic.
MTN SA further lowered the overall cost to communicate for its customers with the effective data
tariff reduced by 8.7% YoY in the quarter; helping to drive improvements in access, affordability and
engagement. An active prepaid data subscriber consumed an average of 2.7GB per month, up 3.2%
YoY in Q1 2023. An active postpaid data subscriber used approximately 13.8GB per month, an increase
of 17.6%.
The number of residential subscribers grew by 88.8% to 77k in Q1, helping to advance MTN SA’s
‘own the home’ strategy. This remains a key focus area for the business underpinned by FWA and
FTTH technologies.
Service revenue in the prepaid consumer business unit (CBU) was 5.0% lower reflecting the ongoing
pressure on consumers and the impacts of persistent loadshedding, which had a
particularly significant impact on voice revenues. Within the overall mix, the prepaid data
performance was encouraging and held up reasonably well with revenue growth of 8.6%.
Postpaid CBU service revenue held up reasonably well and increased by 3.3%. While the
performance in postpaid voice remained under pressure due to loadshedding and data
substitution, the overall result was supported by an increased uptake in data-oriented
packages despite deteriorating consumer spending and credit conditions in the market.
The enterprise business unit (EBU) delivered robust double-digit service revenue growth of
11.4% underpinned by growth in data and new contracts acquired in ICT.
The wholesale business grew service revenue by 14.9% as national roaming continued to scale.
MTN SA also saw an encouraging increase in traffic on its network from Telkom, as this segment of
national roaming also grew steadily.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 5
The fintech business continued to progress, with approximately 1.1 million monthly active MoMo
users as at 31 March 2023, representing growth of 31.8% YoY. MTN SA focused on scaling its fintech
ecosystem, including payments availability at more than 27 000 retail points.
MTN SA also drove engagement through a combination of innovative and relevant financial solutions
such as utilities payments and increasing other value-added services (betting, forex, equities, gaming).
This was in addition to lending services (personal and micro loans) and finalising the launch of the
recently SARB-approved international remittance. We expect this to drive increased app adoption
and reduced subscriber churn over time.
The impacts of loadshedding – which slowed the top-line and increased opex – were a key contributor
to MTN SA’s softer EBITDA in Q1 (6.5% lower); representing a contraction of 3.7pp in EBITDA margin
to 36.2%, including the once-off gain on disposal of SA towers in the period. Excluding the effect of
this once-off gain, EBITDA margin would have been 36.1%. The higher management fee to the Group,
as previously guided to the market, had a negative impact of 0.7ppt on the reported EBITDA margin.
Network resilience plan update
We commenced the rollout of our comprehensive network resilience plan in H2 2022 and the work to
upgrade key sites continued in the Q1 2023. This included, a new project was launched in terms of
which MTN is directly driving the rollout of resilience in Johannesburg, given the urgency of the
programme.
The deployment incorporates the upgrade of rectifiers, additional battery capacity (to allow for a
minimum of six hours of battery autonomy) and a mix of static and mobile generators. MTN SA is also
piloting solar solutions on a limited number of sites. In addition, where there are higher risks of theft
or vandalism, additional security solutions are being deployed, and active infrastructure changes
(including replacement of copper cabling with aluminium) are being implemented.
The improvements seen so far in the Johannesburg clusters where resilience has progressed, even
during continuous Stage 6 loadshedding, provide some encouragement regarding the plan to rollout
the new design across the network. High priority sites in key provinces are expected to be completed
in H2 2023, with the balance of the regions and network being completed in H1 2024.
MTN SA outlook
The remainder of H1 2023 will continue to present headwinds to the MTN SA business, with
macroeconomic and loadshedding impacts on service revenue progression and costs. A number of
initiatives are in place and are being executed to navigate the prevailing conditions, including
innovative commercial offerings, cost optimisation as well as investments into the resilience of the
MTN SA network and business.
The postpaid price increases, effective from April 2023, should help to drive improved top-line growth
in the business and mitigate inflationary impacts on the MTN SA business. This tariff increase will help
to mitigate the decline in voice and improve data performance in the remainder of the year.
MTN SA is driving growth through bundle rationalisation, improved phone and upgrade plans as well
as enhanced digital plans. There are also a number of initiatives underway to optimise pricing,
including price-ups in selective prepaid plans and other portfolios.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 6
It is anticipated that these interventions will be supported by improved network availability, enabled
by the comprehensive network resilience plan. MTN SA targets a recovery in top-line growth and
improving EBITDA margin towards the medium-term guidance by H2 2023.
MTN Nigeria
MTN Nigeria published detailed Q1 results on 27 April 2023 and drove strong commercial momentum
in a challenging operating environment to deliver a strong financial performance in the period. In
addition to higher inflation and interest rates as well as challenges with the availability of hard
currency liquidity, the Nigerian economy was also impacted by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s redesign
and introduction of new naira notes from 15 December 2022. The limited availability of new notes
resulted in cash shortages, which impacted customers’ ability to recharge through physical channels
and transact within the MoMo agent network.
Service revenue grew by 20.4%* – in line with medium-term guidance – supported by growth across
key revenue segments of voice, data, fintech and digital services. The mobile subscriber base increased
by 9.4% to 76.8 million.
Voice revenue grew by 7.2%* underpinned by revamped voice propositions and enhanced CVM
initiatives. This result was achieved despite the impact of cash shortages on customer spending
patterns in Q1.
Data revenue rose by 40.0%* on increased subscribers (+14.7%) and data usage (+31.3%) enabled
by the sustained investment in 4G and 5G network expansion. Data traffic grew by 50.3% YoY,
with our 4G network covering 79.3% of the population.
MTN Nigeria added 169k home broadband users in Q1, bringing the user base to 1.4 million, supported
by the deployment of 5G fixed wireless access devices, mobile broadband solutions and fibre-to-the-
home connectivity.
Fintech revenue grew by 8.5%*, driven by growth in the wallet and agency business but moderated by
the impact of cash shortages, which affected Xtratime and transactions on the OTC platform. Despite
the challenges, over 40k active agents were added in Q1, bringing the total number to approximately
264k. The agent network is pivotal to the MoMo ecosystem, bringing the service closer to customers.
Digital revenue grew by 42.8%* as the active user base rose by 58.4% YoY to 11.7 million, led by
instant messaging platform ayoba, which added over 1.5 million users and ended the quarter with
approximately 6.7 million active users. MTN Nigeria continued to expand its rich media services
portfolio through recent partnerships with Amazon and Apple, to bring Amazon Prime Video and
Apple Music, respectively, to MTN Nigeria’s customers.
Revenue from the enterprise business rose by 57.1%*, led by the mobile and fixed connectivity
services and underpinned by the onboarding of new customers across segments and the uptake of
enhanced services.
Opex increased by 29.2%* on higher consumer price index adjustments on lease rental costs, foreign
exchange availability, naira depreciation, the acceleration in site rollout and rising energy costs. This
was mitigated by the cost savings realised from the expense efficiency programme. Consequently,
MTN Nigeria recorded EBITDA growth of 17.7%* with EBITDA margin 1.3pp* softer to 53.3%*.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 7
Southern and East Africa (SEA)
The SEA region delivered service revenue growth of 17.7%* YoY, supported by sustained top-line
growth in most segments and an increase in subscriber numbers by 7.0% YoY to 37.2 million. The
blended inflation in SEA averaged 13.3% in Q1 2023, compared to 8.6% in Q1 2022. Encouragingly,
the month-on-month trend in inflation eased slightly in key markets such as Uganda and Rwanda.
SEA continued to report strong growth in data revenue (+22.9%*) and fintech revenue (+24.4%*).
MTN Uganda, which published Q1 results on 4 May 2023, recorded service revenue growth of 15.9%*
YoY, underpinned by solid voice growth (up 8.8%*) and strong momentum in the data (+25.8%*) and
fintech (+20.7%*) segments. Voice revenue growth benefitted from increased customer engagement
and usage, enabled by continued customisation of the value proposition, as well as reduced subscriber
churn. The subscriber base grew by 11.6% to 17.8 million.
Data revenue was supported by strong growth in active data users and data usage, and fintech
revenue was driven by the strong performance in payments service, as well as the recovery in the
savings and lending portfolio.
MTN Uganda’s EBITDA margin remained within target with a 0.3pp* improvement to 51.9%*.
This was delivered despite higher inflation, through continued operational efficiencies and
disciplined
capital allocation.
MTN Rwanda, which published Q1 results on 5 May 2023, grew service revenue by 14.8%*. Although
voice revenue softened by 1.1%* due to lower voice pricing as the Opco drove increased affordability,
top-line growth was driven by the continued positive momentum in data revenue (+20.7%*) and
fintech revenue (+39.4%*).
MTN Rwanda reported EBITDA growth of 9.5%* with an EBITDA margin of 45.8%* (down 1.9pp* YoY).
This was impacted mainly by higher cost of sales due to the higher uptake of 4G services from the
wholesale service provider. EBITDA margins should improve in H1 2023 driven by the implementation
of our expense efficiencies as well as the roll out of MTN Rwanda’s own 4G network.
Overall, the SEA portfolio reported a 0.1pp* increase in the blended EBITDA margin to 46.1%* for
Q1 due to higher inflation in the markets and increased network and commissions and distribution
costs.
West and Central Africa (WECA)
The WECA region delivered double-digit service revenue growth of 10.8%*, with overall
subscribers up by 2.7% to 72.6 million, despite difficult trading conditions, where the average
blended inflation rose to 19.8% in Q1 2023, from 8.3% in Q1 2022. Excluding Ghana, WECA
inflation was stable in the period, at 5.2%.
Data revenue growth of 20.8%* was a key driver of overall performance with active data
subscribers increasing 12.8% to 33.2 million. Fintech revenue was also robust and increased by
19.6%* despite the impacts of regulatory taxes and pricing competition in key markets.
MTN Ghana, which published Q1 results on 27 April 2023, delivered a strong overall performance
in the first quarter of 2023, with a 23.2%* YoY increase in service revenue, supported by growth in
voice, data and fintech. MTN Ghana also grew its subscriber base to 27.4 million with active data
and MoMo subscribers growing by 8.4% and 15.9% respectively.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 8
Fintech revenue (+24.4%*) continued its recovery from the impact of the implementation of the e-levy
in May 2022 and the subsequent 25% reduction in person-to-person (P2P) transaction fees. The
recovery was underpinned by growth in cash-out revenue (+75.2%) and advanced services revenue
(+46.4%).
EBITDA increased by 16.6%* YoY with a corresponding margin decline of 3.2pp to 56.3%*, due to
inflationary pressures.
MTN Côte d’Ivoire’s service revenue increased by 5.0%*, largely underpinned by 19.6%* growth in
data revenue, despite the impacts of network and platform disruptions due to unreliable electricity
supply. Fintech revenue continued its recovery with a second consecutive quarter of positive
growth (up by 7.3%*), underpinned by transaction volume growth of 45.9%
The EBITDA margin declined by 4.2pp* to 28.9%*, impacted by pricing pressures as well as macro
challenges including local currency devaluation and higher inflation.
MTN Cameroon reported service revenue growth of 7.8%* and maintained leading market share in a
challenging and highly competitive environment. CVM initiatives drove solid growth in data (+16.5%*)
and fintech (+12.8%*) revenue, despite increased pricing competition in the market. The EBITDA
margin for MTN Cameroon improved by 0.3pp* to 34.0%* due to cost optimisation initiatives.
WECA reported a blended EBITDA margin of 38.1%*, down by 1.7pp*. Excluding MTN Ghana, the WECA
markets grew service revenue by 5.5%* and reported a 2.3pp* decrease in EBITDA margin to 29.2%*,
reflecting the pressure in MTN Côte d’Ivoire.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The MENA region performed well, with service revenue growth of 73.6%* YoY under challenging
trading conditions. Strong growth in voice (+51.9%*) and data revenue (+94.8%*) supported the
region’s overall performance. The total number of subscribers (excluding MTN Irancell) grew by
1.0% to 15.3 million, with active data subscribers increasing by 11.8% to 5.4 million.
In difficult conditions, MTN Sudan increased service revenue by 133.8%*, underpinned by growth in
voice (+102.0%*) and data (+157.3%*) revenue on the back of tariff increases. The EBITDA margin
declined by 1.0pp* to 50.6%*, impacted by inflationary pressure on costs but mitigated by strong
growth in revenue and expense efficiency initiatives.
MENA reported a blended EBITDA margin of 44.3%*, up by 5.6pp*, boosted by the strong revenue
growth.
MTN Irancell, our equity-accounted JV, delivered service revenue growth of 33.8%*, supported by
increased data revenue. The restrictions on international traffic related to protests in Iran adversely
impacted the availability of services to customers and the performance of the business. The EBITDA
margin declined by 1.0pp* to 41.8%*, driven by high inflation.
The Iran Internet Group (IIG) continued its strong performance in 2023. Ride-hailing app Snapp
remained the market leader, ranking among the top ride-hailing apps globally and reaching 4.3 million
daily rides. Last-mile delivery service Snappbox also remained the market leader with almost
350 000 daily orders. Food delivery app Snappfood grew revenue by 77% YoY.
Within Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH), ride-hailing service Jeeny continued its strong growth
with almost 100 000 daily rides.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 9
Building the largest and most valuable fintech platform
We scaled and accelerated our fintech ecosystem across our markets, driving recurring usage with a
focus on new product launches to grow advanced services. Overall fintech revenue grew by 17.9%*
YoY in Q1, reflecting a steady continuation in quarterly growth acceleration.
In Q1, we recorded a 38.8% increase in transaction volumes to 4.1 billion transactions, with transaction
value up by 64.6% to US$65.7 billion.
Key markets
We are encouraged by the recovery in trend in MTN Ghana after the impact of the introduction of the
e-levy and the subsequent 25% reduction in P2P fees. Fintech revenue grew 24.4%* in Q1 underpinned
by growth in cash-out revenue and advanced services revenue.
MTN Uganda, our second largest MoMo market by service revenue, continued to see strong ecosystem
growth where total transaction volume and value increased by 26.5% and 35.5% respectively and the
number of merchants doubled to 268k. We are focused on accelerating advanced services in in the
business over the medium-term.
In Côte d’Ivoire, we were encouraged by the strong growth in merchants (+177.8%) and agents (14.8%)
in the quarter, reflecting the ongoing recovery in the ecosystem. Transaction volume and
value increased by 45.9% and 26.0% YoY respectively and this supported the 7.3%* growth in fintech
revenue delivered by MTN Côte d’Ivoire.
At MTN Nigeria, we increased active wallets by 58.1% to 3.2 million in Q1 following the reopening of
the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) interface for inbound and outbound transfers.
Cash shortages in Nigeria had an impact on the growth in fintech users during the period but we were
encouraged by the recovery in trend towards the end of the quarter.
Key verticals
The overall momentum in our fintech business remained robust, with strong growth in our payments
and e-commerce ecosystem, as we leveraged our strong distribution footprint. The number of active
merchants accepting MoMo payments increased by 103.3% to more than 1.6 million and the total
value of MoMo merchant payments rose by 41.3% YoY to US$3.7 billion.
In BankTech, we facilitated a total loan value of US$336.9 million, a 69.9% YoY increase, as we
capitalised on our scaled mobile wallet business and customer footprint.
The total value of remittances grew by 36.5% YoY to US$550.4 million in Q1. This was driven by strong
growth in international remittances where we have increased the number of outbound corridors to
105 (up 75.0%) and inbound partnerships to 451 (up 33.0%).
Our InsurTech platform (aYo), within our strategic alliance, had a decline of 3.4% YoY in the number of
active policies due to a shift in our approach to focus on a higher average revenue per policy and new
revenue streams as well as the termination of loyalty policies in certain markets.
Active policy growth was also impacted by platform migration and integration challenges as we
shifted to a proprietary infrastructure. In the year ahead, we anticipate a return to growth in active
paid policies with higher average revenue per policy and further country rollouts.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 10
MTN Group Limited
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023
Scaling our FibreCo ambitions
In Q1, MTN GlobalConnect (MTN GC) grew external revenue by 17.0% YoY to US$83.6 million, with
mobility revenue up by 15.5%. MTN GC signed fixed connectivity infrastructure deals valued at
US$2.8 million.
MTN GC rolled out over 2 000 km of new fibre in Q1 2023. This brings our total inventory of proprietary
fibre to over 107 000km as at 31 March 2023.
The performance of the fixed connectivity segment was driven by the introduction of Internet Protocol
Transit (IPT) International Gateways (IGWs) in South Africa and Nigeria, as well as the launch of the
IPT product Looking Glass Portal.
To meet the growing demand for international connectivity in our markets, in line with our FibreCo
plans, MTN GC Kenya and Zambia made noteworthy progress through digital connectivity initiatives.
External wholesale mobility revenues grew by 15.5% YoY in Q1, backed by a five-year messaging deal
with a global hyper scaler, increased mission-critical SMSes processed on the platform to authenticate
mobile users and resilient performance from international voice delivered against a negative global
trend. MTN GC also partnered with key global mobile networks and opened 1.2k new services to make
international roaming more affordable for MTN’s subscribers across Africa.
During the quarter, MTN GC attained MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet services certification, ensuring that our
digital connectivity solutions adhere to the highest industry standards and deliver best-in-class
connectivity solutions to drive network transformation to power the African digital economy.
Update on regulatory and legal considerations
MTN Ghana SIM registration
The national SIM card re-registration exercise in Ghana continued. Following the disconnection of
approximately 5.8 million customers, by 16 April 2023 MTN Ghana had reconnected about two million
of these SIMs (after the impacted subscribers completed the second phase of bio-capture).
In a letter dated 20 March 2023, the NCA directed all operators to disconnect all numbers that had not
completed their Stage 2 registration by 31 March 2023. In response to this, MTN Ghana disconnected
an additional 37.1k SIMs in March 2023, bringing the total disconnected SIMs per the regulatory
directive to 5.8 million.
In a subsequent letter dated 13 April 2023, the NCA further directed that all disconnected SIMs should
be delinked from the SIM registration database effective 17 April 2023. Consequently, 3.8 million of
our disconnected SIMs have been delinked from the SIM registration database.
MTN Ghana is committed to the national SIM re-registration exercise and will continue to deploy
resources and work with the regulator to accelerate SIM re-registration for all subscribers.
Conflict in Sudan
In mid-April 2023, fighting broke out in Sudan. We are monitoring the situation very closely and, as
MTN, we extend our sincere condolences to the families and communities affected by the conflict in
the country. Our priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, customers, partners
and the communities we serve in Sudan.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 11
The situation on the ground has led to a scarcity of basic goods, fuel shortages and difficulties in
securing cash due to the closure of banks. Network availability has also been affected, with levels
dipping as a result of grid power shortages and challenges in refilling fuel tanks. Additionally, power
failures at infrastructure providers are causing interruptions to international links, impacting
international calls, roaming services, and ISP services.
Despite these challenges, MTN remains committed to providing essential communication services
while prioritising the safety of all stakeholders. The Company is actively monitoring the situation in
Sudan and sincerely hopes for a swift and peaceful resolution to the crisis.
MTN Sudan contributed 3.3% to Group EBITDA in Q1 2023.
Outlook
Amid ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges and regulatory developments, MTN
Group’s resilient business model, strong balance sheet and disciplined strategy execution position the
Company for accelerated growth and relevance to 2025.
We anticipate that trading conditions across markets will remain challenging for the remainder of
2023 and we will continue to execute on our proactive measures to manage the near-term challenges
and risks.
Within this environment of elevated inflation, implementing selective price increases across the
portfolio remains a critical priority to ensure that operations generate sufficient cash flows to fund
future capital expenditure needed for building world class networks. We will continue to have the
necessary engagements with the regulatory authorities on such needed increases.
South Africa
In South Africa, the postpaid tariff increases that became effective in April 2023 will underpin improved
top-line growth in coming quarters. This will be further underpinned by the work that is already
underway to rationalise bundles and optimise pricing in selective prepaid bundles.
Our network resilience plan in the market is anticipated to deliver increased off-grid power and
materially improve network availability. We anticipate that the combination of improved network
availability, acceleration of Cell C moving traffic onto the MTN network and selective price optimisation
initiatives will result in improved service revenue development in H2 2023.
Nigeria
MTN Nigeria will focus on enhancing network capacity, accelerating 4G, 5G and rural coverage, as
well as driving home broadband to sustain growth in data traffic. The business has started to recover
from the effects of cash shortages in the economy that impacted the Q1 performance, laying a solid
foundation for growth in the remainder of the year as recharges and other transaction activity
normalises. We will continue to engage the regulatory authorities on tariff increases.
For MoMo PSB in Nigeria, the business is focused on developing the agent and merchant ecosystem
that will support growth of the wallet base, and position MoMo PSB to be a material contributor to the
growth of the Group fintech business over the medium-term.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 12
Ghana
In Ghana, the macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain with elevated inflationary pressures and
other macroeconomic risks. There are signs of key trends starting to level out and reverse which
would be positive for the business in the remainder of 2023. Recent tariff increases should support
faster growth in the coming quarters, and the traction in the fintech recovery should provide additional
support.
Financial resilience
The financial resilience we have built into our business provides us with the flexibility to manage the
current risks in our trading environment, while continuing to drive our Ambition 2025 strategy. To
contain the effects of inflation on our business, we are implementing various initiatives including the
renegotiation of major contracts with our partners.
We also remain focused on opportunities for liability management of our non-rand debt, should
market conditions allow, in line with our capital allocation framework.
Strategic priorities
On our strategic priorities, we will continue the work to finalise the agreements with selective strategic
partners to introduce a potential minority equity investment into the Group fintech structure. We are
also in the early stages of exploring the potential orderly exit of the Group from MTN Guinea-Bissau,
MTN Guinea-Conakry and MTN Liberia. We will update all stakeholders as appropriately on the
progress of this process. Finally, we are well-progressed on our exit of Afghanistan, which we anticipate
to be completed in H2 2023.
Medium-term guidance maintained
Our capex guidance for 2023 remains unchanged at R37.4 billion, cognisant of the potential impact
of volatility in local exchange rates against the dollar as well as our work to accelerate MTN SA’s
comprehensive network resilience plan, which is a key focus in the coming quarters to materially
improve network availability in H2 2023.
As we manage the ongoing challenges in our trading environment, and the near-term impacts on our
top-line and margin evolution, we maintain our medium-term guidance. We will remain focused on
implementing the initiatives to continue expanding our connectivity and platform ecosystems in order
to sustain growth in the business, as well as executing on our Ambition 2025 strategic priorities.
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 13
The full financial results are available on the MTN’s website at:
https://www.mtn.com/investors/financial-results/?report_cat=quarterly-results
Q1 trading update teleconference
MTN will be hosting a telecon on Thursday, 11 May 2023 where we will be unpacking the Group’s
trading update for the quarter ended 31 March 2023. To participate, please register
http://www.corpcam.com/MTN11May2023.
11 May 2023
Fairland
Lead sponsor
J.P. Morgan Equities (SA) Proprietary Limited
Joint sponsor
Tamela Holdings Proprietary Limited
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 14
Abbreviations
Business Group Consists of internet service providers in Namibia, Kenya and Botswana
CBU Consumer business unit
CVM Customer value management
EBU Enterprise business unit
FTTH Fibre to the Home
FWA Fixed wireless access
GB Gigabyte
Holdco leverage Holdco net debt (including MTN GC)/SA EBITDA + cash upstreaming
KPI Key performance indicators
Opco Operating company
Opex Operating expenditure
OTC Over the counter
PB Petabyte
PSB Payment services bank
SIM Subscriber Identity/Identification Module
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 15
SUBSCRIBERS
(’000)
Country 1Q 22 2Q 22 3Q 22 4Q 22 1Q 23
South Africa 34 509 35 346 35 878 36 538 35 924
Postpaid 7 526 7 808 7 971 8 277 8 460
Prepaid 26 982 27 537 27 908 28 261 27 464
Nigeria 70 185 74 156 74 099 75 635 76 751
SEA 34 769 34 831 35 897 36 497 37 210
Uganda 15 920 16 255 16 701 17 170 17 769
Rwanda 6 468 6 585 6 792 6 816 6 919
Zambia 7 297 6 812 7 117 7 112 7 031
South Sudan 2 198 2 309 2 387 2 484 2 540
Botswana (joint venture) 1 831 1 831 1 834 1 834 1 862
eSwatini (joint venture) 1 055 1 039 1 067 1 081 1 089
WECA 70 202 70 423 72 033 72 619 72 133
Ghana 27 081 27 759 28 499 28 603 27 447
Cameroon 10 288 10 607 10 596 10 681 10 817
Côte d’Ivoire 15 346 15 488 16 173 16 356 16 641
Benin 7 051 7 104 7 277 7 565 7 843
Guinea-Conakry 4 546 3 427 3 338 3 189 3 179
Congo-Brazzaville 3 204 3 288 3 336 3 308 3 278
Liberia 1 875 1 928 1 975 2 047 2 056
Guinea-Bissau 811 821 838 870 871
MENA 66 541 66 864 66 992 67 821 68 615
Iran (joint venture)^ 51 353 51 814 52 114 52 747 53 268
Sudan 9 215 9 109 8 839 9 042 9 313
Afghanistan 5 973 5 941 6 040 6 033 6 034
Total subscribers 276 206 281 620 284 900 289 112 290 633
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 16
ARPU
(Local currency)
Country 1Q 22 2Q 22 3Q 22 4Q 22 1Q 23
South Africa 93.26 93.79 91.84 94.20 88.65
Postpaid 133.46 132.63 129.86 128.30 125.57
Postpaid (excluding telemetry) 267.75 265.89 260.97 260.90 258.83
Prepaid 70.35 70.56 68.93 71.31 64.67
Nigeria 2 080.55 2 094.90 2 158.60 2 352.80 2 319.20
SEA
Uganda 10 841.00 11 027.00 11 280.00 11 537.00 11 504.00
Rwanda 2 474.87 2 603.60 2 756.86 2 656.00 2 676.06
Zambia 31.59 35.74 38.92 38.73 37.26
South Sudan 2 514.13 2 421.96 2 414.51 3 221.95 3 395.93
Botswana (joint venture) 65.00 67.00 68.79 70.00 73.87
eSwatini (joint venture) 108.78 111.02 111.79 112.45 103.09
WECA
Ghana 29.08 28.04 27.86 32.05 33.16
Cameroon 2 209.00 2 209.00 2 221.61 2 346.39 2 286.73
Côte d’Ivoire 1 797.27 1 789.24 1 753.89 1 745.25 1 587.74
Benin 2 974.19 2 998.52 3 113.17 2 921.05 2 927.70
Guinea-Conakry 17 382.42 18 181.79 22 337.09 21 181.23 21 418.38
Congo-Brazzaville 3 158.30 2 985.23 3 210.28 3 204.97 3 123.89
Liberia 3.67 3.89 3.91 4.07 3.91
Guinea-Bissau 1 011.21 1 100.04 995.12 1 024.87 925.94
MENA
Iran (joint venture) 379 010.89 432 089.91 477 165.10 406 324.57 485 376.07
Sudan 802.86 1 070.64 1 353.30 1 673.01 1 866.96
Afghanistan 156.86 165.66 169.08 164.48 162.33
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 17
ARPU
(US dollar)
Country 1Q 22 2Q 22 3Q 22 4Q 22 1Q 23
South Africa 6.06 6.01 5.41 5.34 5.00
Nigeria 4.99 5.01 5.04 5.28 5.03
SEA
Uganda 3.06 2.97 2.94 2.94 3.09
Rwanda 2.40 2.53 2.64 2.49 2.44
Zambia 1.78 2.07 2.40 2.31 1.91
South Sudan 5.82 5.33 3.94 5.07 4.48
Botswana (joint venture) 5.74 5.51 5.41 5.49 5.63
eSwatini (joint venture) 7.07 7.11 6.58 6.38 5.82
WECA
Ghana 4.27 3.54 2.95 2.40 2.69
Cameroon 4.00 3.60 3.45 3.63 3.75
Côte d’Ivoire 3.07 2.91 2.71 2.70 2.60
Benin 5.09 4.88 4.80 4.52 4.80
Guinea-Conakry 1.94 2.09 2.59 2.47 2.51
Congo-Brazzaville 5.40 4.86 4.95 4.95 5.12
Liberia 3.67 3.89 3.91 4.07 3.91
Guinea-Bissau 1.73 1.79 1.54 1.58 1.52
MENA
Iran (joint venture) 1.55 1.75 1.81 1.47 1.62
Sudan 1.67 1.88 2.36 2.89 3.16
Afghanistan 1.63 1.89 1.90 1.86 1.83
FINTECH KPIs SUMMARY
Constant
Reported currency
1Q 22 2Q 22 3Q 22 4Q 22 1Q 23 % change % change
Transactions (Tx)
Tx volume (bn) 2.9 3.1 3.5 3.9 4.1 38.8 38.8
Value of tx (US$bn) 59.9 56.4 50.4 54.6 65.7 9.8 64.6
Wallet
Active MoMo users (m) 58.7 60.7 63.0 69.1 61.7 5.2 5.2
Active MoMo agents (m) 1.05 1.09 1.16 1.27 1.33 27.1 27.1
Payments and
e-commerce
Active merchants 765 211 946 249 1 029 122 1 460 709 1 555 831 103.3 103.3
GMV (US$bn) 4.3 3.6 2.9 3.0 3.7 (13.6) 41.3
Banktech
Loan value (US$m) 280.4 341.7 416.5 377.9 336.9 20.2 69.9
Remittance
Total value (US$m) 573.9 540.1 536.4 568.2 550.4 (4.1) 36.5
Insurtech
Active aYo policies (m) 4.3 4.4 4.0 4.3 4.2 (3.4) (3.4)
Registered aYo policies (m) 17.4 17.9 18.0 20.5 21.3 22.9 22.9
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 18
AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATES
ZAR:LC
strengthening/
(weakening)
ZAR: local currency 1Q 23 1Q 22 %
Nigerian naira 26.03 27.14 (4.1)
Iranian rial 16 921.11 15 861.21 6.7
Ghanaian cedi 0.69 0.44 56.8
Cameroonian franc 34.41 38.01 (9.5)
Ugandan shilling 210.13 230.18 (8.7)
South Sudanese pound 42.55 28.11 51.4
Sudanese pound 33.22 31.38 5.9
LC:USD
strengthening/
(weakening)
USD: Local currency 1Q 23 1Q 22 %
South African rand 17.70 15.38 (15.1)
Nigerian naira 461.16 417.30 (10.5)
Iranian rial 299 999.28 243 877.63 (23.0)
Ghanaian cedi 12.26 6.78 (80.8)
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 19
REVENUE
Rm
Constant
Reported currency
Country 1Q 22 2Q 22 3Q 22 4Q 22 1Q 23 % change % change
South Africa 12 243 12 536 12 480 13 381 12 624 3.1 3.1
Nigeria 17 351 17 880 20 054 21 975 21 829 25.8 20.6
SEA 4 416 4 498 5 013 5 415 5 345 21.0 17.7
Uganda 2 341 2 357 2 605 2 823 2 991 27.8 16.6
Rwanda 771 824 966 966 955 23.9 14.1
Zambia 689 745 938 944 763 10.7 5.7
South Sudan 585 579 492 669 623 6.5 61.8
Business Group 30 (7) 12 13 13 (56.7) (58.1)
WECA 12 603 11 715 12 023 11 938 12 708 0.8 10.7
Ghana 5 335 4 553 4 418 3 725 4 187 (21.5) 23.3
Cameroon 1 864 1 827 1 918 2 118 2 219 19.0 7.8
Côte d'Ivoire 2 137 2 131 2 209 2 441 2 475 15.8 4.8
Benin 1 650 1 624 1 695 1 799 1 953 18.4 7.2
Guinea-Conakry 420 365 447 436 427 1.7 (15.8)
Congo-Brazzaville 812 786 876 911 938 15.5 4.6
Liberia 312 359 395 441 436 39.7 21.1
Guinea-Bissau 73 70 65 67 73 0.0 (8.8)
MENA 1 177 1 367 1 677 1 991 2 168 84.2 73.7
Sudan 716 834 1 093 1 389 1 576 120.1 133.8
Afghanistan 461 533 584 602 592 28.4 3.1
Joint ventures
Iran 1 865 2 181 2 451 2 066 2 353 26.1 33.8
Botswana 283 236 294 285 287 1.4 (2.0)
eSwatini 110 113 114 117 112 1.8 1.8
Equity accounting
exclusion (2 258) (2 530) (2 859) (2 468) (2 752)
Head offices,
GlobalConnect and
eliminations 375 506 903 1 002 746
Total 48 165 48 502 52 150 55 702 55 420 15.1 15.0
Hyperinflation (58) 882 1 359 301 121
Total including
hyperinflation 48 107 49 384 53 509 56 003 55 541 15.5 15.0
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 20
SERVICE REVENUE
Rm
Constant
Reported currency
Country 1Q 22 2Q 22 3Q 22 4Q 22 1Q 23 % change % change
South Africa 9 974 10 071 10 147 10 656 10 108 1.3 1.3
Nigeria 17 308 17 840 20 006 21 869 21 744 25.6 20.4
SEA 4 369 4 450 4 929 5 354 5 287 21.0 17.7
Uganda 2 330 2 339 2 574 2 793 2 959 27.0 15.9
Rwanda 758 818 956 955 945 24.7 14.8
Zambia 668 722 897 925 747 11.8 6.6
South Sudan 583 578 490 668 623 6.9 62.2
Business Group 30 (7) 12 13 13 (56.7) (58.1)
WECA 12 555 11 665 11 978 11 877 12 669 0.9 10.8
Ghana 5 320 4 539 4 406 3 704 4 173 (21.6) 23.2
Cameroon 1 858 1 818 1 910 2 113 2 212 19.1 7.8
Côte d'Ivoire 2 127 2 121 2 199 2 425 2 468 16.0 5.0
Benin 1 644 1 617 1 692 1 794 1 951 18.7 7.4
Guinea-Conakry 415 361 441 432 423 1.9 (15.6)
Congo-Brazzaville 809 783 874 906 934 15.5 4.5
Liberia 310 356 393 437 435 40.3 21.5
Guinea-Bissau 72 70 63 66 73 1.4 (7.6)
MENA 1 172 1 361 1 670 1 982 2 158 84.1 73.6
Sudan 713 830 1 088 1 382 1 569 120.1 133.8
Afghanistan 459 531 582 600 589 28.3 3.0
Joint ventures
Iran 1 813 2 143 2 405 2 020 2 288 26.2 33.8
Botswana 280 233 290 282 284 1.3 (2.2)
eSwatini 106 108 110 113 106 0.0 0.0
Equity accounting
exclusion (2 199) (2 484) (2 805) (2 415) (2 678)
Head offices,
GlobalConnect and
eliminations 378 502 905 1 004 744
Total 45 755 45 890 49 635 52 742 52 710 15.2 15.1
Hyperinflation (58) 879 1 352 298 121
Total including
hyperinflation 45 697 46 769 50 987 53 040 52 831 15.6 15.1
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2023 21
EBITDA MARGIN
Constant
1Q 22 2Q 22 3Q 22 4Q 22 1Q 23 currency
Country % % % % % %
Group 46.4 44.1# ...
