MTN Group Ltd. (MTN), Africa?s largest wireless operator, increased its subscriber numbers 1.1 percent to 203.8 million in the three months through September from the previous quarter as it maintained market share in Nigeria.
The number of subscribers in Nigeria, the continent?s most populous country, rose 0.6 percent to 55.6 million from three months earlier while customer numbers in its domestic market of South Africa climbed 0.9 percent to 25.2 million, the Johannesburg-based carrier said in a statement.
?The third quarter has been characterised by lower than anticipated subscriber growth following ongoing price competition and subscriber registration requirements across a number of markets,? Chief Executive Officer SifisoDabengwa said in the statement. ?Data and mobile money remain a key focus for the group with traditional voice revenue under pressure.?
MTN, which operates in more than 20 countries across the Middle East and Africa including Iran and Syria, is reviewing its cost base in South Africa and may cut staff as it seeks to tackle slowing subscriber growth amid tougher competition. South African wireless companies are looking at other African markets where consumers increasingly use more profitable data-enabled devices ahead of fixed-line domestic phones.
MTN has added 8.37 million subscribers in the first nine months of the year against a target of 21.1 million subscribers for the full year, according to the company.
MTN shares rose 13 percent this year, compared with a 16 percent increase rise on the FTSE/JSE Africa Top 40 Index. Vodacom Group Ltd. (VOD), the mobile-phone operator with the most South African subscribers, declined 7 percent over the same period.
Source: Bloomberg
