MTN Uganda has approved a second interim dividend of $45.62 million due to improved earnings

MTN Uganda has announced its second interim dividend payment totaling Ush167.91 billion ($45.62 million), translating to Ush7.5 ($0.002) per share.

The decision comes after the company demonstrated an enhanced financial performance over the nine months leading up to September 30. The total interim dividends to shareholders that have been approved by the board this year amount to Ush315.67 billion ($85.77 million), translating to Ush14.1 ($0.003) per share.

The company announced an initial interim dividend of Ush147.76 billion ($40.14 million), amounting to Ush6.6 ($0.001) per share in August, which was subsequently distributed to shareholders in September.

The telco, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, reported a 29.6 percent increase in net profit, reaching Ush459.41 billion ($124.83 million) in the nine months ending September 30, up from Ush354.44 billion ($96.3 million) during the same period last year, driven by enhanced performance in data, voice, and mobile money sectors.

“The board and management are satisfied with the robust performance achieved during this period, which aligns with our dedication to our shareholders,” stated Sylvia Mulinge, the company’s Chief Executive.

The company made its debut on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) in November 2021 by conducting an initial public offering (IPO) and selling a 12.97 per cent stake.

In June, it offered an additional 7.03 percent shareholding on the exchange to meet the Uganda government requirement of offloading a minimum of 20 percent stake to local investors.

For the nine months ending September 30, the company reported a total revenue increase of 19.6 percent, reaching Ush2.33 trillion ($633.11 million), up from Ush1.94 trillion ($527.14 million) during the same period last year, as detailed in the unaudited financial statements released on Tuesday (November 5).

Service revenues increased by 20.1 percent to Ush2.3 trillion ($624.96 million), up from Ush1.92 trillion ($521.7 million). This growth was fueled by strong performances in commercial metrics across all business lines, especially a sustained subscriber growth of 13.3 percent in a highly competitive market.

Non-service revenues, however, decreased by 14.5 percent to Ush23.36 billion ($6.34 million) from Ush27.31 billion ($7.42 million).

Voice revenues increased by 13.7 percent to Ush941.69 billion ($255.87 million), up from Ush828.3 billion ($225.06 million), while data revenues rose by 30.1 percent to Ush585.77 billion ($159.16 million), compared to Ush450.32 billion ($122.36 million).

Mobile money revenues increased by 25.6 percent to Ush669.19 billion ($181.83 million), up from Ush532.87 billion ($144.79 million).

“Our service revenue experienced a growth of 20.1 percent, driven by the strong performance of voice and robust expansion in our data and fintech sectors,” stated Ms. Mulinge.

“We thoughtfully expanded our fiber network, concentrating on the greater Kampala metropolitan area and important cities in the upcountry region.”

Throughout the review period, the company allocated Ush297.9 billion ($80.94 million) towards enhancing the network infrastructure, concentrating on emerging growth opportunities in the mobile and home data sectors.

The company credited the rise in data revenue to a surge in data usage and a larger active subscriber base.

“This was achieved through our targeted investments in the network, which enhanced the adoption of our data offerings on both 4G and 5G,” the company states.

The number of mobile subscribers rose by 13.3 percent to reach 21.6 million, data subscribers saw a 24.1 percent increase to 9.3 million, and fintech subscribers grew by 13.2 percent, totaling 13.2 million.

The company’s device financing strategy resulted in a 30.1 percent increase in smartphones connected to the network, with penetration growing to 42.3 percent from 36.6 percent. Additionally, data traffic on the network saw a rise of 48.5 percent, with 76.8 percent of that traffic being carried on the 4G network, up from 70.8 percent in 2023.

The contribution of data revenue to service revenue rose by two percentage points, reaching 25.4 percent, up from 23.4 percent in 2023.

Revenue in financial technology (Fintech) increased by 23.5 percent, bolstered by ongoing strength in mobile money performance.

Total expenses increased by 16.9 percent to Ush1.12 trillion ($304.32 million) from Ush963.24 billion ($261.73 million), with net finance costs rising by 14.2 percent, primarily due to the higher network-related leases as we invest in new sites throughout the country.