MTN Rwanda continues to deliver solid operational progress with strong revenue growth.
MTN Rwanda has released its results for the year ended 31 December 2018. In that year, the operation celebrated 20 years of serving the customer under the banner of “Turi Abanyu”. MTN has shown solid performance and reported year on year growth, driven primarily by a growth in the base and the investment in the network.
2018 Performance in Summary:
The key drivers of MTN Rwanda performance are summarised below:
Drivers | 2018 | 2017 | %var |
| Subscribers | 4.5m | 3.4m | 30.8% |
| Active data subscribers | 3.4m | 2.6m | 30.7% |
| MoMo subscribers | 2.8m | 1.9m | 52.6% |
| Income | Frw Billions | ||
| Revenue | 102.8 | 84.6 | 21.6% |
| Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation | 30.1 | 7.7 | 290.1% |
| Net Profit after tax | 7.7 | (8.5) |
The main drivers of growth in 2018 for MTN Rwanda were:
- Growth in the base +30.8%
- Voice revenue +19.1%
- Data +23.5%
- Fintech (MoMo and Digital) +30.3%
In 2017, MTN Group launched the BRIGHT strategy that is adopted in all the MTN operations. The strategy focuses the operations on key growth areas and business operational efficiencies. It is based on the following elements:
| B | Best Customer Experience |
| R | Returns and Efficiencies |
| I | Ignite Commercial Performance |
| G | Growth in Digital and Data |
| H | Hearts and Minds (people focus) as well as Reputational and Stakeholder Management |
| T | Technology Excellence |
As part of its 20-year anniversary activities, MTN Rwanda celebrated its customers for their 20 years of support by launching a campaign titled “Izihirwe”, that saw the company recognise and reward customers for their continued support.
Also underpinning this growth was the improved network performance. The journey to modernise and transform the network began in 2017 when MTN embarked on a 3-year network modernisation and transformation plan. Phase I of this plan in 2018 saw U900 being deployed across the whole network countrywide to drive network efficiency, starting with Kigali and ending with the Eastern Province. It also saw the commissioning of 25 new sites as well as the modernisation of the core network equipment. The population coverage went from 53% in 2017 to 92% in 2018. The plan continues in 2019 with phase II that entails upgrading the capacity of 3G sites to enable them to carry more traffic, as well as the building of additional sites.
Financing Activities:
In October 2018 to primarily finance the extensive capital investment in the Network, MTN raised a syndicated 5-year loan facility for Rwf 50bn. This loan was raised solely on the local market and 8 of the local banks, led by Ecobank, are participating in the syndicate.
Dividends:
For the year ended 31 December 2018 MTN declared and paid a total dividend of Frw 8.2 billion (2017: Nil) which was Frw 5.5 million per share (2017: Nil). The local shareholder Crystal Telecoms received Frw 1.64 billion (2017: Nil).
Corporate Social Responsibility:
MTN is a socially responsible company and continues to plough back some its profits into projects focused on Health, Education, Entrepreneurship and Youth. These projects are in line with the Rwandan government priorities and include provision of health insurance for vulnerable families, people with disabilities, connectivity in schools and scholarships for under-privileged students. For the annual 21 Days of Y’ello Care which occurs in the month of June and driven by MTN Staff, the focus was on the provision of clean water for schools, erection of solar panels in rural areas and training of citizens in rural areas on the use of MoMo to access government services through IREMBO.
Outlook for 2019:
The BRIGHT strategy remains in place and the focus is the same. MTN Rwanda continues to be customer centric and introduce affordable products and services that bring all customers into the digital age.
In Quarter 1, MTN launched the Ikosora handset, an entry level affordable smart phone at Frw 19,800. In addition to the handset, MTN partnered with Facebook to launch Facebook Flex, which is free Facebook that provides basic Facebook functionality such as messaging, texting and liking. This combination not only drives smart phone penetration but allows customers affordable digital inclusivity. The impact of this has been a growth of data revenue year on year to date of 52.6%.
In line with the Rwandan government drive for a cashless society, the MoMo ecosystem is growing with the enhancement of existing offerings such as MoMoPay for merchants and Tap&Go payments for bus services.
Overall, these initiatives amongst others have already resulted in a 28.6% year on year revenue growth in Q1. Barring any significant unforeseen macroeconomic developments, MTN Rwanda expects the growth trend to continue.
