MTN Group said it had 204 million subscribers in 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East 30 September, up 1.1 percent from the second quarter. Group CEO Sifiso Dabengwa said the third quarter subscriber growth was lower than expected because of price competition and subscriber registration requirements across a number of markets. Subscriber growth was mainly hit by disconnections in Nigeria related to registration requirements, slower than expected subscriber growth in South Africa, as well as slower subscriber growth in Iran.
The company now expects to add 19.1 million net new customers this year, compared to an earlier estimate of 21.1 million. The downgrade is mainly due to the slowdown in Iran, as well as weaker results in its home market South Africa.
During the quarter, the group continued to focus on segmented competitive voice and data tariffs and improving network quality to cater for increased traffic. Data and mobile money remain a key focus for the group, with traditional voice revenue under pressure. Data revenue for the group increased by 34.7 percent year on year, contributing 14.1 percent of total revenue while mobile money subscribers increased 10.7 percent quarter on quarter to 13.4 million across thirteen operations.
