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MTN - Release of subscriber numbers for the quarter ended 30 September 2006
MTN Group Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1994/009584/06)
(Share code: MTN)
(ISIN code: ZAE000042164)
("MTN Group" or "the Group)
RELEASE OF SUBSCRIBER NUMBERS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2006
MTN Group recorded 34,768,000 subscribers at 30 September 2006. This was up a
significant 37% for the quarter (following the Investcom acquisition) from
25,371,000 subscribers reported for the Group at 30 June 2006. Excluding the
impact of subscriber additions related to the acquisition of Investcom,
subscribers grew 8% for the quarter. Investcom operations reported standalone
growth of 20% compared with subscribers reported for the quarter ended 30 June
2006. The Group"s subscriber base at 30 September 2006 is reported using the
MTN Group"s definition for Investcom operations (ie subscribers who have made
or received a revenue generating call in the last 90 days).
The attached regional analysis includes information for Investcom operations
in the Group"s numbers at 30 June 2006. The South African region increased its
subscriber base by 7% for the quarter. Growth in the region was driven
principally by MTN Group"s South African operations, which showed a healthy
improvement in net connections for the quarter. Subscribers increased by 7%
for the 3 months to 11,161,000. In the West and Central Africa region much of
the growth for the quarter is still due to MTN Nigeria and to a lesser extent
Ghana. Nigeria achieved subscriber growth of 8% in the quarter, and has
reached a base of 10,375,000 subscribers while Ghana increased its base by a
healthy 21% to 2,436,000 subscribers over the same period. Middle East and
North East Africa recorded subscriber growth of 17% for the quarter mainly due
to continued strong growth in Syria (20%) and Uganda (14%). Growth in the
Sudan was dampened by the relatively slow network rollout. Afghanistan, a
start up, exceeded expectations and achieved net additions of 99,000.
Investcom subscribers accounted for 7,384,000 or 21% of the Group total
subscriber base at 30 September 2006, an increase of 1,240,000, or 20% based
on the Investcom numbers reported for the quarter ended 30 June 2006. South
Africa and Nigeria respectively account for 32% and 30% of the total
subscriber base of the Group at the end of September 2006.
ARPU is defined as being the Average Revenue per User on a monthly basis and
is generally disclosed in any financial year on a year-to-date basis. The ARPU
of the Investcom operations reflects only the average revenue generated since
the acquisition by the MTN Group at the beginning of July 2006. MTN South
Africa"s ARPU increased to R162 during the quarter, driven by the prepaid ARPU
increasing to R94 on strong usage growth. It is encouraging that the prepaid
ARPU in South Africa is being maintained. The ARPUs of most of the Group"s
international operations have also remained strong during the quarter with no
significant dilution experienced. Afganistan reported ARPU for the first time
of $16 per subscriber.
MTN"s Nigerian operations launched a new and exciting product offering to
strategically reposition itself within an increasingly competitive market.
This included the launch of the Xtra product plan with lower tariffs, skewed
to on net traffic, as well as increased product offerings such as MTN Caller
Tunez and MTNLoaded. This was implemented on 22 September 2006, the same date
the interconnect determination became effective. The impact of these various
changes will only be felt in future reporting periods. Early indications since
the launch of the new products are encouraging, with increases in billable
minutes, reactivation of dormant subscribers and an improvement in brand
recognition.
Pursuant to the acquisition of Investcom, the combined Group has successfully
begun realising synergy benefits. Savings in operational expenditure are
estimated at $80 - $100 million while savings in capital expenditure are
anticipated to total at least $100 million for the 2007 year. Limited savings
have already been realized in 2006 and it is anticipated that this will ramp
up in 2007. Savings in capital and operational expenditure beyond 2007
together with softer synergy benefits through the implementation of Group-wide
best-practices, specifically in product development and implementation,
network roll-out and in operational and support functions make up the balance
of the estimated total of $300 million previously referred to.
Further to the announcement on SENS on 23 October 2006 regarding MTN Irancell,
MTN Group is pleased to report that over 65,000 subscribers have been
registered to date on the network. Network coverage currently includes Tehran,
Mashhad and Tabriz with coverage in Sari and Karaj imminent. It is still
expected that MTN Irancell will have 1 million subscribers by the end of
December 2006. MTN Irancell subscriber activity is not included in the
reported numbers.
Further details on subscriber numbers and ARPU trends are provided below.
MTN Group Subscribers
(in thousands)
Sep-06 Jun-06 Quarter Dec-05 YTD
(%) (%)
Southern Africa
South Africa ** 11,161 10,437 7% 10,235 9%
Post-paid 1,972 1,870 5% 1,654 19%
Pre-paid 9,189 8,567 7% 8,581 7%
Botswana - Mascom 557 531 5% 479 16%
Swaziland 255 236 8% 213 20%
Zambia 125 119 5% 97 29%
Sub total 12,098 11,323 7% 10%
11,024
West and Central Africa
Nigeria 10,375 9,636 8% 8,370 24%
Ghana # 2,436 2,018 21% 1,820 34%
Cameroon 1,661 1,528 9% 1,248 33%
Cote d"Ivoire 1,256 1,108 13% 1,080 16%
Benin # 415 346 20% 268 55%
Congo - Brazzaville 250 229 9% 210 19%
Guinea Conakry # 201 115 75% - New
Liberia # 186 154 21% 109 71%
Guinea Bissau # 79 76 4% 44 80%
Sub total 16,859 15,210 11% 13,149 28%
Middle East North and East Africa
Syria # 2,095 1,743 20% 1,465 43%
Uganda 1,403 1,236 14% 982 43%
Yemen # 1,032 1,023 1% 825 25%
Sudan # 771 591 30% 269 187%
Rwanda *** 341 311 10% 275 24%
Afghanistan # 99 - New - New
Cyprus # 70 78 -10% 65 8%
Sub total 5,811 4,982 17% 3,881 50%
TOTAL 34,768 31,515 10% 28,054 24%
Total MTN 34,768 25,371 37% 23,189 50%
Total MTN excl ex- 27,384 25,371 8% 23,189 18%
Investcom
** Excludes Application Providers: 150 000 (June
06 -141 000) (Dec 05 - 130 000)
*** Includes subscribers in Supercell: 72 000
(June 06 - 71 000) (Dec 05 - 56 000)
# Investcom group companies,
acquisition effective July 2006
MTN Group ARPUs
Sep-06 Jun-06 Dec-05 9 months
movement
Southern Africa
South Africa R 162 R 159 R 169 -R7
Post-paid R 489 R 494 R 541 -R52
Pre-paid R 94 R 90 R 93 R1
Mascom - Botswana $17 $16 $21 -$4
Swaziland $22 $22 $23 -$1
Zambia $20 $20 $20 $0
West and Central
Africa
Nigeria $18 $18 $22 -$4
Ghana # $16 $16
Cameroon $15 $15 $16 -$1
Cote d"ivoire $18 $19 $20 -$2
Benin # $17 $18
Congo - Brazzaville $20 $20 $21 -$1
Guinea Conakry # $18 $16
Liberia # $23 $24
Guinea Bissau # $15 $18
Middle East North and East Africa
Syria # $25 $24
Uganda $12 $12 $15 -$3
Yemen # $11 $10
Sudan # $17 $16
Rwanda $17 $16 $17 $0
Afghanistan # $16 $0
Cyprus # $32 $28
# Investcom group companies, acquisition
effective July 2006
Fairland
1 November 2006
Sponsor
Merrill Lynch South Africa (Proprietary) Limited
Date: 01/11/2006 01:14:28 PM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za
Produced by the JSE SENS Department
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