Telecoms network MTN recorded a drop of 5 million mobile subscribers to 71.5 million subscribers due to government regulation on sales of new SIM cards, as disclosed in the company’s March 2021 unaudited results.
It added that its active data users fell by 71,000 to 32.5 million, while its service revenue saw a rise by 17.2 percent to N385.2 billion.
It recorded an increase in its profit before tax by 33.9 percent to N102.9 billion, while its earnings per share grew by 42.5 percent to N3.60 kobo.
Speaking on the company’s first-quarter performance, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said that the telecoms company recorded “good progress” despite disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that “Operationally, service revenue in Q1 grew by 17.2% YoY, in line with our medium-term target, supported by growth of 42.6% and 8.0% in data and voice revenue respectively.
“This was achieved despite the impact of the pandemic and a decline in our subscriber base due to the effects of customer churn and the restrictions on new SIM sales and activations arising from changes in SIM registration regulations.
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“We continue to collaborate with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to update subscriber records with the National Identity Number (NIN).”
He added that 35 million of its subscribers had submitted their NINs as of 30 April 2021, which represents “approximately 50% of our subscriber base and 63% of service revenue.
“Impacted by the reduction in the overall subscriber base in Q1, active data subscribers declined marginally by 71,000 to 32.5 million.
“However, we recorded an 86.7% increase in data traffic and a 48.5% increase in usage (MB per user) from the existing base.
“Digital revenue grew by 101.0% and fintech revenue by 28.5% as customers continued to adopt more digital products and services, a trend accelerated by the pandemic.”
