MTN to give shareholders first 2024 dividend as profits spike 

These three areas, which make up the company’s traditional revenue, increased its earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortisation by 22.4 percent to Shs784.7 billion during the period, something that shored up the telco’s total revenue by 20.4 percent to Shs1.505 trillion, the largest increase since it first established operations in the country.

During that period, MTN invested heavily in its network to enhance its customer value proposition by optimising the way its customers used its services. This helped to increase its customer base to 20.7 million, a 14.6 percent year-over-year increase. 
“MTN Uganda’s performance in the first half of the year continued on a positive trend, supported by the overall momentum in economic growth. The Ugandan economy grew by 6.0 percent for the 2023/2024 financial year with macroeconomic indicators trending favourably in the six-month period,” the telco’s chief executive officer, Mr Sylvia Mulinge, said in a statement.

Throughout the period, there was a better exchange rate stability which supported the overall pace at which commodity prices moderated in the economy by an average of 3.4 percent from the previous 8.0 percent in the first half of 2023.
Bank of Uganda data shows that there was a notable rebound in trade receipts and the sustained support of monetary policy, which was responsible for the shilling’s 2.0 percent appreciation versus the dollar during the period. 

“Against this backdrop, our strong execution enabled us to deliver a pleasing set of results,” Ms Mulinge said.
Companies, include information about inflation and economic growth in their financial reports to provide context for their performance and to help stakeholders understand the external factors influencing their results. Economic growth, for instance, influences consumer spending and business investment. Their reference on these show how the impact these external factors had on their sales and revenue.

MTN also leveraged this economic growth to invest Shs219.1 billion in improving its network’s quality, capacity, and resilience, with an emphasis on 4G and 5G. Here, it concentrated on accelerating the rollout of these networks, especially on its 5G network, which reached 538 sites and completely covered Kampala.

The total investments paid off, with rising revenues, lowering the company’s capital intensity by 1.5 percentage points to 14.4 percent, which is in line with its medium-term target. This despite the fact that the investment raised its capital expenditure by 8.6 percent to Shs219.1 billion, excluding leases.
 
“As we increase our shareholder returns and enhance our financial resilience, we will continue to monitor our cost efficiencies through our expense efficiency program and optimise our capital investments for the remaining part of the year,” Ms Mulinge said.

Meanwhile, it’s a happy day for shareholders. This performance prompted the telco’s Board of Directors to propose paying its first dividend of the year of Shs6.6 per share, totalling Shs147.77 billion for the first half of 2024, subject to withholding taxes.

The dividend will be distributed on September 20,  but only to the company’s registered shareholders by September 2. 
 MTN Uganda is audited by Ernst & Young.