Slowly, changes will pay off for MTN
There are no quick fixes to problems in SA, where a complete infrastructure needs to be built, says the firm’s head
MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter seems to have hit the right notes with the investor community, judging from comments made after his maiden conference call with investors to discuss the group’s first-quarter performance. Shuter acknowledged the problems his company faces and moved to reassure the market that MTN is working on fixing the situation, especially in SA, where the company has lost some high-spending customers. Peter Takaendesa, a portfolio manager at Mergence Investment Managers, notes that Shuter is "quite optimistic" about the leading market position of MTN in most of the countries where it operates. "I got the sense that he is fully aware of the challenges facing MTN and that actions to resolve those issues are already under way," he says. In the three months to March, MTN reported a 1.5% decline in subscriber numbers to 237m. This was due to customer registration requirements and the restatement of subscriber numbers in countries such as Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria. MTN is rest...
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