MTN Group Publishes Q1:2019 Financials Ahead of its Listing by Introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange

MTN Nigeria recently published its Q1:2019 earnings ahead of the finalisation of its listing by introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Please find below highlights of the company’s Q1:2019 performance.

For additional information, we have also attached MTN Group’s Q1:2019 financials which contains the company’s Q1:2019 earnings result.

MTN Nigeria Q1:2019
Operational Highlights

• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) improved by 1.1% Y-o-Y to N1,510 in Q1:2019
• Total subscribers increased by 3.6% Y-o-Y to 60.3 million in Q1:2019
• Data subscribers improved by 5.6 million Y-o-Y to 20.4 million in Q1:2019
• Data is the fastest growing segment, with a revenue share of 26.0%

Industry Highlights

• MTN Nigeria is the undisputed leader with market share by subscribers and value of 39.0% and 50.0% respectively

Financial Highlights

• Revenue increased by 13.2% Y-o-Y to N282.0bn in Q1:2019, driven by voice (74.9%), data (16.6%), Fintech (2.9%) and Digital (1.0%) revenues. Other sources accounted for 4.5%.
• EBITDA Margin improved to 53.3% in Q1:2019 from 41.8% in Q1:2018
• PAT increased to N48.4bn in Q1:2019 from N32.2bn in Q1:2018, translating to a PAT margin of 17.2%
• Effective Dividend pay-out is 80.0%

Prospects/Outlook

• MTN Group plans to issue commercial paper worth an estimated N200.0bn in 2019
• 47m new mobile subscribers expected by 2023, with mobile penetration estimated at 91.8% for Nigeria
• Smartphone penetration is expected to increase to 95.0% in 2023 from 47.0% in 2018
• Low data penetration and 4G coverage presents opportunities for data revenue growth
• Low level of banking penetration is expected to support Fintech revenue

Update on NSE Listing by Introduction
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN) announced on the 24th April 2019 that it had completed its conversion from a private company to a public liability company (Plc). The conversion is a legal requirement for MTN’s listing by introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).  In addition, MTN announced the successful completion of the registration of 20,354,513,050 (20.35 billion) ordinary shares of N0.02 each with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 8th May 2019. We expect the listing by introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to be completed in the first half of 2019.