MTN’s mixed bag of subscriber numbers shows a market under pressure
Average revenue per user, a key measurement, declined during the quarter and was flat compared with a year ago
MTN’s total subscriber numbers declined by 6.6% to 221-million at the end of March, from 237-million a year earlier. But compared with the December quarter, the March quarter showed a rebound of 1.9%, MTN said in a quarterly update released on Thursday morning. In its home market, MTN reported that it lost 753,00 prepaid users over the year, taking the total at March 31 to 24-million, while gaining 328,000 postpaid users, taking the total to 5.5-million. MTN’s overall South African subscriber numbers for the March quarter showed an annual decline of 1.4% to 29.8-million from 30.2-million, but rebounded 1% from December. The update described the December and March subscriber numbers as "modernised". "Revenue from contracts with customers has been implemented with effect from January 1 2018 and comparative numbers have been restated where appropriate," the update said. In Nigeria, subscriber numbers showed an annual decline of 9.9% to 54.5-million from 60.5-million, but a quarterly re...
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