MTN Group Ltd., Africa’s largest mobile phone company, said subscriber numbers grew 9 percent in the quarter ended September from the preceding three months.
MTN had 80.74 million subscribers in total, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement today. Subscribers grew 9 percent to 20.2 million in Nigeria.
MTN Chief Executive Officer Phuthuma Nhleko aims to lift subscriber numbers to 140 million in the next two to three years, excluding acquisitions, as the company aims to achieve 50 percent market share in its existing markets.
South and East Africa contributed 28 percent of total users, West and Central Africa contributed 44 percent, while Middle East and North Africa contributed 28 percent. South Africa contributed 72 percent of the region’s users, and subscription grew 4 percent in the country during the quarter to 16.2 million.
Pre-paid growth was bolstered by the lower rates, while post-paid connections were “satisfactory”, MTN said. Blended average revenue per user grew 1 percent for MTN South Africa which the company said showed inflation had still not affected spending on telecommunications.
