MTN’s 2020 first quarter financials has shown that the company’s mobile money revenue grew strongly and benefitted from an increase in mobile money subscribers over the first three months of 2020.
The figures reveal that subscribers increased by 2.1 percent to 9.3 million from the previous year with a higher transactional activity of person-to person (P2P) with a total increase in revenue for the mobile money market which is up 30.4 percent from the previous year March, 2019.
Again, the report revealed a growth in more advanced services such as retail merchant payments as well as international remittances. In total, mobile money revenue’s contribution to the entire service revenue increased from 17.9 percent to 19.4 percent.
The telecommunications company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 34.5 percent with an EBITDA margin expansion of 5.5 percentage points (pp) to 53.4 percent. This, according to the report, is an improvement as a result of cost efficiency initiatives which were underpinned by continued distribution of efficiencies.
Further, the report drew attention to the growth process being attributed to the company’s cash management initiatives and an improved cash generation from its operation by 12.5 percent.
In the latter part of the first quarter of 2020, the Government of Ghana imposed certain restrictions due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. These restrictions saw government through the BoG, introduce regulatory measures which include zero-rating of all Mobile Money peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers up to GH¢100 daily for a period of 90 days and simplified registration for merchant and person-to-person (P2P) wallets and purchases from e-commerce and other platforms.
The report also revealed that the company’s deadline to meet the capital requirements for Payment Service Providers and Electronic Money Issuers, has been moved by the BoG from its original date of June 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
