| SENS Note - 03 May 2007 |
| MTN -- subscriber numbers for March quarter |
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MTN recorded 44 301 000 subscribers at 31 March 2007. This was up 11% for the quarter from 40 051 000 subscribers reported for the group at 31 December 2006. The group's subscriber base at 31 March 2007 was reported using MTN's definition (ie subscribers who have made or received a revenue generating call in the last 90 days). The analysis was prepared on a regional basis. The SEA region contributed to 37% of the group's total subscribers and WECA and MENA regions were 49% and 14% respectively. The South and East Africa (SEA) region increased its subscriber base by 6% for the quarter. Growth in the region was driven principally by MTN's South African operation, which showed a healthy improvement in net connections for the quarter with subscribers increasing by 4% for the 3 months to 13 030 000, while Uganda had a 10% growth to 1 757 000 subscribers over the same period. In the West and Central Africa (WECA) region the 10% growth for the quarter was still mainly from MTN Nigeria and to a lesser extent Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. Nigeria achieved subscriber growth of 9% in the quarter reaching 13 384 000 subscribers. Ghana increased its base by 13% to 2 924 000 subscribers and Cote d'Ivoire by a healthy 22% to 1 975 000 subscribers over the same period. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region recorded subscriber growth of 28% for the quarter mainly due to the aggressive subscriber acquisition by Iran who, off albeit a low base, grew 601% to 1 080 000 subscribers from December last year. There was also continued strong growth in Afghanistan (62%) and to a lesser extent Sudan (11%). 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. MTN South Africa's ARPU reduced by 10% to R148 in line with seasonal trends and the stepped change as the new year's average takes affect. The ARPUs of most of the group's other operations have followed a similar trend. Nigerian and Ghanaian ARPUs remained strong at USD17 and USD16 respectively, while Iran ARPU increased as coverage improved and more subscribers were taken on. |
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