South Africa’s MTN Group has reported revenues of ZAR135.1 billion (USD14.9 billion) for the twelve months ended 31 December 2012, an increase of 10.9% year-on-year. MTN says that the improved top-line sales figure was supported by solid organic growth in South Africa (up 7.1% y-o-y), Iran (+26.1%), Ghana (+21.3%), Uganda (+16.2%), Sudan (+28.3%) and Cote d’Ivoire (+17.0%). However, Nigeria had a ‘difficult year’, with revenues dropping 0.8% on an annualised basis. MTN notes that group data revenue increased by 58.5% to ZAR14.6 billion and represents an important driver of total revenue growth. EBITDA for 2012 rose by 7.0% to ZAR58.6 billion, while the group reported full-year CAPEX of ZAR30.1 billion.
In operational terms, MTN’s consolidated subscriber base increased 15.1% y-o-y to 189.3 million in 2012. MTN’s domestic unit saw its total subscriber base grow 15.4% to 25.4 million, driven primarily by 15% growth in the pre-paid segment, which now accounts for 20.9 million customers. Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria – the group’s largest operator – reported a 13.9%expansion to 47.4 million users, in spite of what MTN describes as ‘a challenging first half of 2012 mainly due to aggressive price competition driven by bonuses on recharge, freebies and other promotional activities’.