MTN Ghana records GH¢3.98 billion profit in 2023

MTN Ghana, the leading telecommunications service provider in Ghana, has announced its financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2023.

The company delivered strong growth in key financial and non-financial metrics, demonstrating the resilience and adaptability of its business amidst challenging market conditions.

The company announced a profit of  GH₵3.98 billion and declared a dividend of GH₵0.175 per share in its audited 2023 Financial Report released yesterday.

The company’s service revenue grew by 34.6% year-on-year, driven by strong growth in voice, data, and Mobile Money.

This growth translated to a 39.4% year-on-year increase in profit after tax, reaching to GH₵4.0 billion.

Additionally, MTN Ghana maintained a healthy balance sheet with to GH₵225 million in outstanding principal debt.

It paid to GH₵5.9 billion in direct and indirect taxes.

Key Highlights include total mobile subscribers reaching 26.8 million, reflecting a 6.3% year-on-year decline due to the national SIM re-registration exercise.

Similarly, active data subscribers increased by 14% to 15.4 million, while active Mobile Money (MoMo) users increased by 20.1% to 15.2 million.

Regarding financial performance, service revenue grew by 34.6% to GH₵13.3 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 40.2% to GH₵7.8 billion, and EBITDA margin rose by 2.3 percentage points to 58.4%.

The records also show that investments rose to GH₵4.1 billion in capital expenditure (capex) to expand network coverage and enhance service quality, contributing significantly to the Ghanaian economy by paying GH₵5.9 billion in direct and indirect taxes, representing a 59.5% year-on-year increase.

While acknowledging the anticipated challenges of the macroeconomic environment, MTN Ghana remains optimistic about the future.

MTN emphasized its commitment to its Ambition 2025 strategy, focusing on developing its platforms to unlock further value for stakeholders, continuously improving its network and services to deliver an exceptional customer experience, and maintaining its medium-term growth guidance of high-twenties (in percentage terms) for service revenue.

As part of MTN’s vision to create a better future for all Ghanaians, the MTN Ghana Foundation invested GH₵30.3 million in 2023 towards improving healthcare, education, and supporting economic growth.

 The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN, Selorm Adadevoh, stated, “We are on track to complete the construction of a 60-bed maternity and neonatal center for the Keta Municipal Hospital and a STEM robotics lab for the Mamfe Girls’ School.”

He added, “We also awarded 120 new scholarships, bringing the total number of students benefiting from the MTN scholarship program at various educational institutions to 566.”

Mr Adadevoh emphasized, “Our commitment to socioeconomic development continues to be a priority, and we look forward to continuing to play our part in Ghana’s sustainable development.” MTN Ghana remained a development partner to the Government through its contribution to the fiscal and socio-economic development of the country.

In 2023, the Company paid GH₵5.9 billion in direct and indirect taxes and GH₵0.4 billion in fees, levies, and other payments to Governmental agencies.

Combined, this represented 47.1% of MTN’s total revenue for the 2023 financial year.

During the year, MTN Ghana, in collaboration with the Government, launched the “Ghana Innovation Hub” project, aligned with its Ambition 2025 strategic objective of leading the delivery of digital solutions for Ghana’s progress.

The ICT Hub project, along with the “Accra Innovation City” and “The Ghana Education Platform” projects, are spearheaded by MTN Ghana in partnership with the Government and other partners.

“So far, MTN Ghana has made a commitment of $25 million towards the ICT Hub project.

These initiatives aim to accelerate Ghana’s ICT ecosystem, develop human capital and ICT skills, and create job opportunities for the youth.

MTN Ghana’s strong financial performance in 2023 demonstrates its commitment to delivering value to its customers, contributing to the Ghanaian economy, and creating a brighter future for all.