MTN Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), as well as the related Group SENS announces its unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024.
The key highlights are:
Total subscribers increased by 7.0% year-on-year (YoY) to 7.4 million
Active data subscribers increased by 13.6% YoY to 2.5 million
Active Mobile Money (MoMo) subscribers increased by 16.8% YoY to 5.1 million
Service revenue increased by 2.3% to Rwf 59.8 billion; impacted by the cut in mobile termination rates (MTR). Excluding the impact of MTR, Service Revenue growth would be 8%
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 10.4% to Rwf 24.2 billion
EBITDA margin decreased by 5.4 percentage points (pp) to 40.1%
Profit after Tax (PAT) decreased by 61.5% to Rwf 749 million; impacted by the depreciation of our right-of-use (RoU) assets and pressures on EBITDA.
Capital expenditure (capex) decreased by 2.1% to Rwf 12.8 billion (down 27.2% to Rwf 9.4 billion, ex-leases)
Macroeconomic environment improvement in Q1
Chief Executive Officer for MTN Rwanda, Mapule Bodiba says “The first quarter of 2024 saw some improvements in our macroeconomic environment, with the average urban inflation
rate easing to 10.2% (Q1 2023: 17.5%). This was aided by improvements in domestic agricultural supply linked to good weather conditions during the quarter as well as an easing trend in some international food pricing pressures.”
A climb in foreign expenses
“The Central Bank’s monetary policy committee in February 2024 decided to maintain the Central Bank Rate (CBR) at 7.5 percent and remained committed to maintaining inflation within the target band (2 to 8 percent) as they continue to monitor macroeconomic developments. A widening trade deficit and the strong dollar resulting from the US monetary policy tightening did, however, exert some pressure on the Rwandan franc with the average RWF/USD depreciating by 15.5% YoY in Q1, 2024. This has contributed to an increase in the costs of our foreign denominated expenses.” she said
Outlook
“Looking ahead, we remain committed to serving our customers and accelerating the growth of our commercial operations by delivering increased service revenue, operational efficiencies and strengthening our balance sheet. We will continue to engage with the regulator on the prevailing MTR dispensation, with a view to moving towards a more sustainable MTR policy environment to restore the profitability of the business and to ensure the future stability of the industry. The acceleration of our commercial initiatives, including price optimization, are already underway to increase our service revenue performance back to double digit growth. As we execute on our Ambition 2025 strategy, we look forward to continuing to drive leading digital solutions for Rwanda’s progress. Notwithstanding the headwinds our business is facing, in the short-term, we maintain our medium-term guidance of mid-teens service revenue growth and a stable EBITDA margin.” she concludesThe post MTN Rwanda Q1 Unaudited Results Released first appeared on IT News Africa | Business Technology, Telecoms and Startup News.