–       As Airtel Africa Posts 11% Revenue Growth

   The MTN Group on says it foresees a challenging operating year in 2020 as global economy counts the losses of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

The Group said the prediction was based on the likely effects of disruption in the supply chain and challenges in rolling out coverage under lockdown rules across its operating areas.

MTN’s Chief Financial Officer Ralph Mupita who said this while disclosing the company’s 2020 first quarter earnings added that the company would maintain its 3-5 years medium-term guidance amid disruptions in supply chain during the financial year.
“We anticipate that disruptions in the supply chain and challenges in rolling out coverage under lockdown rules, combined with our emphasis on liquidity, will impact on our capex programme for the year”, he said.
The  telecoms Group said the impact of the outbreak of Coronavirus had shifted revenue trends from March, with data revenue increasing as governments order people to stay at home
It, however, noted that roaming declining due to a drop in international travel and voice revenue coming under pressure.
The company said data traffic at its three largest markets in the continent rose during the period of lockdown, with data traffic in MTN Nigeria up 32 percent at the end of April compared with February figure.

 It said South Africa’s figure was up 56 percent and data traffic in Ghana market grew 39 percent in the same period.

The telecoms firm said it recorded 26.4 per cent growth in data revenue in the period, followed by fintech with 26 percent growth and voice, which grew by 6.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Airtel Africa Plc, said its revenue grew 11.2 percent to $3.42 billion for the year ended March 2020, boosted by the significant growth in its Nigeria unit.

The telecoms firm, which is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)  and on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), grew its Nigeria’s unit revenue by 24.1 per cent and that the largest country in the continent accounts for 40 percent of its overall revenue.

It said in a regulatory filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that its mobile money and fourth-quarter revenue grew by 37.2 percent while operating profit grew by 22.8 percent to $901 million and increased by 25.4 percent in constant currency.

According to the telecoms company, more customers signed up for its mobile and data services, while stronger activity in its biggest market Nigeria added to the topline.

The Africa-focused company went public last year with a London listing and has benefited from a steady demand in emerging markets, while some of its European peers have been teaming-up to navigate challenges posed by saturated markets.

The company reported a 36.1 percent sales growth in the period, as more customers increased usage of data and voice as a result of lockdown induced by the efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic in the continent.

Airtel Africa said its data services have been benefiting from increased traffic as consumers seek entertainment during the current stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“In Africa, the spread of COVID-19 has lagged the rest of the world and, therefore, it is difficult to precisely forecast what the impact of this will be on customers and business.

“However, our performance during the month of April has been resilient,” Chief Executive Officer Raghunath Mandava said.

He said telecoms businesses provide strategically essential services to ensure the functioning of economies and communities

It is difficult to precisely forecast what the impact this will be on customers and business, the firm said.

The firm also said it has continued to invest in the expansion of its network with 65 per cent of sites now on 4G and “acquired new spectrum in Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi and Chad, while entered into a strategic partnership in our mobile money business.”