Starcomms Reports 53% Increase In Gross Profits

Nigerian fixed-wireless operator Starcomms has announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2009, reporting a 53% year-on-year rise in gross profit to NGN18.896 billion (USD124 million), compared to NGN12.385 billion in 2008. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2009 leapt 633% to NGN7.334 billion, up from NGN935 million a year earlier, which Starcomms attributed to a 13% rise in service revenue, operational efficiencies from a greater scale of operations and effective cost control. Cash flows from operations increased to a positive NGN7.803 billion versus a loss of NGN7.142 billion in 2008, which will enable the firm to fund its planned capital expenditure whilst paying down a portion of debt in 2010.

However, the company posted a loss after taxation of NGN7.787 billion, of which NGN4.951 billion resulted from unrealised foreign exchange losses on remaining dollar denominated debt. Any appreciation of the naira will result in these unrealised losses being written back as profit in 2010. The company’s operating loss improved 85% from NGN4.448 billion in 2008 to NGN666 million a year later; if the naira remains constant or improves, Starcomms says it expects to see a much better bottom line performance in 2010.

At 31 December 2009 Starcomms recorded a total active subscriber base of 2.629 million, 26% higher than the 2.085 million reported a year earlier. During 2009 the company succeeded in expanding its coverage from 20 cities and twelve states to 31 cities and 22 states.

MTN Revenues Up 9.2% As Profits Fall

South African mobile group MTN has posted net profit of ZAR14.65 billion (USD1.97 billion) for the full year ended 31 December 2009, down from ZAR15.32 billion a year earlier. CEO Phuthuma Nhleko said: ‘Movements in exchange rates in the year, mainly in the South African rand and Nigerian naira, had a substantially negative impact on the group's financial results.’

Meanwhile group revenues jumped 9.2% year-on-year as sales earned the company over ZAR111.95 billion in the twelve-month period, compared to ZAR102.53 billion in 2008.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed form ZAR43.16 billion in the year ended 31 December 2008 to ZAR46.06 billion a year later. The company ended the year with 116 million mobile customers across its footprint, up from 90.65 million at the end of 2008.

The company expects growth to continue into 2010, forecasting 20 million net new additions by year-end, with its Nigerian and Iranian operations driving growth over the twelve month period, with net additions of six million and five million subscribers respectively.

Mobinil Reports USD 1.9 Billion Revenues

Egyptian cellco MobiNil has posted revenues of EGP10.8 billion (USD1.9 billion) for 2009, up 8% year-on-year, on the back of strong subscriber growth. EBITDA grew by 9% during the period to EGP5.1 billion while net income came in at EGP2 billion, up 3%.

At 31 December the active subscriber base stood at 24.1 million, up from 19.2 million twelve months previously. Average monthly ARPU across the year fell from EGP46 in 2008 to EGP39 in 2009 in light of fierce competition between MobiNil and rival cellcos Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr (Nile Telecom).

Etisalat Posts 5% Increase in 2009 Revenues

UAE-based telecoms operator Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has reported its preliminary consolidated results for the year ended 31 December 2009, announcing net revenues of AED30.83 billion (USD8.93 billion), an increase of 5% compared to AED29.36 billion posted in 2008. The company’s net profit for full-year 2009 rose to AED8.836 billion, up from AED8.511 billion a year earlier, which included profit from the sale of shares in Saudi cellco Mobily of AED892 million.

Excluding this exceptional item, net profit after federal royalty for 2009 would have increased by AED1.217 billion, 16% higher than 2008. Total assets increased 13% to AED40.38 billion compared to AED35.62 billion in 2008. Etisalat did not reveal quarterly figures, but Reuters has calculated 4Q09 profit at AED1.99 billion (39% higher than the year-ago quarter), based on previous financial statements.

The number of Etisalat’s domestic mobile subscribers exceeded 7.74 million at 31 December 2009, up 6% year-on-year, while fixed line customers reached 1.31 million (a fall from 1.358 million in 2008) and internet subscribers grew 16% in 2009 to total 1.33 million, although the company did not reveal how many of those were broadband users. In 2009 Etisalat launched its ‘eLife’ fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network and is currently working on making Abu Dhabi the first capital city in the world to be totally connected by fibre-optic infrastructure. The company is also aiming to make the UAE one of the first countries in the world to be entirely covered with fibre-optic services in 2011.

MTN Attributes Fall In SA Growth To Sim Registration

­South Africa's MTN Group has announced that it had a shade under 108.5 million subscribers at the end of September. This is a 5% increase for the quarter from 103.2 million subscribers recorded at the end of  June 2009 and a 19.6% increase for the year to date.

The South and East Africa (SEA) region increased its subscriber base by a very modest 0.5% for the quarter. This was primarily due to the disappointing negative movement of the South Africa subscriber base which contributes 64% to the region. South Africa's subscriber base declined from 17.23 million at the end of June 2009 to 16.42 million at the end of September. The main reason for the movement is the significantly lower number of gross connections following the implementation of RICA in August, which requires PrePay SIM cards to be registered with the operators. Given the current market uncertainty following the RICA implementation there are challenges with South Africa achieving its revised target of zero net additions for the full year.

Uganda increased its subscriber base by 11% in the quarter following the continued success of MTN Zone which now constitutes 95% of the total prepaid base.

The West and Central Africa (WECA) region increased its subscriber base by 5% for the quarter driven mainly by Nigeria which accounts for 58% of the region's subscribers. Nigeria recorded a 5% increase in its subscriber base to 28.76 million mainly due to continued network rollout, innovative product offerings and the effectiveness of the distribution channels implemented earlier in 2009. Ghana maintained its market share and increased its subscriber base by 2,6% despite aggressive competitor activity. Both Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire increased their subscriber bases by 4% and 5% to 4.19 million and 4.21 million, respectively.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region recorded a 9% increase in subscribers for the quarter. This was largely due to continued growth from the Iran operation, which contributes 62% to the region's subscribers and increased its base by 8% to 20.7 million. Iran's growth was attributable mainly to expanded network coverage and continued promotional activity. Syria increased its subscriber base by 13% to 4 million, well above expectations. Afghanistan, although a relatively smaller operation, has been steadily contributing positively to the region's growth and has gained No. 1 position in the market from No 3 at the beginning of 2009.

MTN has revised its subscriber net addition guidance for the year for South Africa to zero and for Syria to 550,000 while other individually disclosed country guidance remains the same. MTN expects to achieve the total group subscriber net addition guidance for 2009 of 22.6 million.

Impairments Bring Vodafone Profits Down by 54%

Vodafone Group plans to accelerate its plans to reduce operating costs amid an expected further decline in profits this year. The mobile operator reported net profit for the fiscal year to March 2009 of GBP 3.08 billion, down 54.4 percent from a year earlier due to GBP 5.9 billion in impairment charges to write down the value of its poorly performing activities in Spain, Turkey and Ghana.

 

Operating profit, excluding the one-time charges, rose 16.7 percent to GBP 11.76 billion, helped by the weaker pound. Annual revenues rose 15.6 percent to GBP 41.02 billion, thanks to positive currency effects and acquisitions, but were down 0.4 percent on an organic basis due to regulatory price cuts and the slowing economy. The proportionate customer base grew to 302.61 million, from 288.99 million in December and 260.49 million a year earlier.

 

For this year, Vodafone expects results in Europe to remain under pressure while Africa and Asia will also see a slowdown in growth. The company forecast adjusted operating flat to lower in the fiscal year to March 2010, at GBP 11.0-11.8 billion. Vodafone plans to accelerate its previously announced cost-reduction plan in order to achieve 65 percent of the planned GBP 1 billion in savings in the current year

 

As a result, the company expects the EBITDA margin to fall at a slower rate than the 1.8 point drop seen last year. Vodafone aims to boost free cash flow this year to GBP 6.0-6.5 billion from GBP 5.7 billion last year, while capex is estimated at similar levels to last year's GBP 5.91 billion, after adjusting for exchange rates.

 

In its main market Europe, Vodafone posted annual revenues up 13.6 percent to GBP 29.63 billion, thanks to the weaker pound versus the euro. Organic revenues fell 2.1 percent, due to both lower equipment sales and a 1.7 percent drop in services revenues. In Q4, service revenues fell 3.3 percent.

Spain showed the biggest annual decline, with organic revenues down 4.9 percent, while Germany fell 2.5 percent due to growing use of the SuperFlat tariffs there. Full-year EBITDA rose 7.6 percent to GBP 10.42 billion, but was down 7.0 percent on an organic basis. The UK led the profit decline at a drop of 15.3 percent, hut by higher customer retention costs as the 18-month contracts introduced in 2006 came to an end.

 

In Africa and Central Europe, revenues rose 11.2 percent to GBP 5.50 billion. Organic sales were up 3.9 percent, as a strong performance at Vodacom offset weakness in Turkey and Romania. EBITDA was up 1.3 percent to GBP 1.69 billion, but fell 2.4 percent on an organic basis due to network investments, spending on the turnaround plan in Turkey and intense competition in Romania.

 

Finally, in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Vodafone increased sales 32.3 percent to GBP 5.82 billion and EBITDA rose 17.8 percent to GBP 1.74 billion, mainly due to the takeover in India as well as subscriber growth. On a pro forma basis, revenues rose 19 percent and EBITDA was up 6 percent. However the EBITDA margin declined to 29.9 percent due to weakness in Australia.

 

 

Maroc Telecom Registers Q1 Revenue Growth of 2.4%

Maroc Telecom Group's revenues in the first quarter reached MAD 7.1 billion, up 2.4 percent compared to the year-earlier period. Operating profit rose to MAD 3.2 billion, up 2.7 percent on a strong performance both in its home market Morocco and in the subsidiaries' operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The group's EBITDA increased to MAD 4.2 billion, up 4.9 percent.

The customer base grew by 9.7 percent year-on-year to 19.7 million at 31 March. This growth was essentially attributable to mobile services in Morocco, which achieved a 6.8 percent year-on-year increase in the customer base to 14.6 million (up by 147,000 from December), and to the African subsidiaries, which expanded the mobile customer base by 42.8 percent to 2.8 million. Revenues in Morocco rose to MAD 6.1 billion in the first quarter, up 1.0 percent year-on-year, with mobile service revenues up 1.9 percent to MAD 4.4 billion

The annualized mobile churn rate came to 37.5 percent, representing a 2.6 point increase versus the previous quarter, while blended ARPU amounted to MAD 91, down 6.4 percent year-on-year, essentially due to the impact of growth in the customer base and lower interconnection revenues. Revenues in the fixed-line and internet segments in Morocco came to MAD 2.4 billion, up 1.2 percent year-on-year. At end-March, the fixed-line network had 1.286 million lines in service, representing a 3.7 percent decrease year-on-year, while the average monthly bill increased marginally (up 0.6%).

The ADSL customer base totaled 488,000 lines at 31 March, up 0.2 percent year-on-year. In addition, the 3G mobile internet customer base rose from 28,000 customers to 65,000 customers during the first quarter.

Zain Annual Profits up 6 percent to USD 1.2billion

Middle East and Africa mobile operator Zain reported a net profit of USD 1.2 billion for 2008, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. Zain, which is present in 22 countries, recorded revenue of USD 7.44 billion, an increase of 26 percent compared to 2007, while EBITDA increased 15 percent to reach USD 2.78 billion.

Year-on-year customer growth across the two continents in which Zain operates was 50 percent, with the Zain Group serving 63.54 million active customers at 31 December 2008. The Kuwait-based company has recommended a cash dividend of KWD 0.50 per share. During the year Zain committed over USD 3 billion to network upgrades and expansion, primarily in growing markets such as Ghana, Iraq, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

This is expected to contribute to a further 30 percent increase in many of its financial indicators in 2009. The company raised USD 4.49 billion in September 2008 in a share issue, which will support further expansion. Zain has recently paid back a Murahaba facility of USD 1.2 billion as well as the first installment of USD 525 million for the purchase of Iraqna and several other financial obligations.

The company noted that profit growth was limited last year due to higher borrowing rates in the second half of the year and an adverse USD 138 million currency exchange cost, predominantly in Africa. Zain said it views the world financial crisis as an opportunity to make further acquisitions, given valuations of many prime telecom assets are considerably lower than they were six months ago, and the company is actively pursuing such prospects.

Zain will also adapt its strategy to use share swaps and minority stakes if acquisition opportunities are attractive

MTN Expects 29-34% Rise in EPS

South Africa's MTN has issued a trading statement after it decided that it is likely to report a 29-34 percent rise in full-year adjusted headline earnings per share. The firm is finalising its full year financials for release on 12th March and is required to alert the stock exchange if the results differ by more than 20% from prior guidance.

Shareholders are also advised that the above earnings numbers are further enhanced by the unrealised foreign exchange gains on loans to certain operations and that the actual effective tax rate is expected to be higher than originally anticipated.

The trading statement has neither been reviewed nor reported on by MTN's external auditors. The share price jumped 3% on the news.

Maroc Telecom Annual Revenue up by 7.2%

Maroc Telecom posted a 7.2 percent rise in annual sales to MAD 29.5 billion, driven mainly by its mobile operations. In the fourth quarter, revenues rose a slower 3.9 percent to MAD 7.5 billion. The Moroccan operator expects to report growth in operating profit of over 13 percent for 2008. In its home market Morocco, revenues rose 6.6 percent last year to MAD 27.7 billion. For the fourth quarter, mobile revenues in Morocco improved 4.3 percent to MAD 4.7 billion and fixed-line sales rose 6.4 percent to MAD 2.5 billion. The company finished the year with 14.456 million mobile customers in its home market, up 8.5 percent from 2007, while mobile ARPU fell 8.4 percent to MAD 99.2. The number of fixed-line customers was down 2.8 percent to 1.299 million, while the fixed internet base grew 1.3 percent to 400,000. Marco Telecom also had 30,000 mobile broadband users and 10,000 IPTV customers.