MTN Uganda Shareholders to Receive Increased Dividends Amid Strong Financial Performance

MTN Uganda has announced an increase in the returns on investment for its shareholders, with a payout of 6.6 shillings per share for the first six months of this year. This increase comes on the back of the company's enhanced profitability during the same period.

The company currently has 22,389,044,239 ordinary shares, making the proposed payout amount to 147.8 billion Shillings. According to MTN Uganda's half-year performance report, the company's profit after tax surged by 29.7 percent, reaching 295.7 billion Shillings.

Sylvia Mulinge, MTN Uganda's Chief Executive Officer, attributed this success to the overall economic progress in Uganda. “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 2023/24 financial year, with macro-economic indicators trending favorably in the six-month period,” she said.

Mulinge highlighted that headline inflation averaged 3.4 percent, down from 8 percent in the same period in 2023. Additionally, the Ugandan shilling appreciated by 2 percent against the dollar, driven by the recovery of trade receipts and sustained monetary policy support, contributing to the company's strong performance.

The report shows that MTN Uganda's service revenue grew by 20.4 percent, bolstered by connectivity and FinTech business services, with a 14.6 percent year-on-year increase in the customer base to 20.7 million subscribers. Innovations in the company's services have enhanced liquidity among customers, driving FinTech business transactions up by 25.2 percent year-on-year, with volumes reaching 2 billion Shillings.

Voice call revenue grew by 15.1 percent year-on-year, though its contribution to total service revenue dropped to 41.6 percent from 43.6 percent last year. Data revenue saw a 28.6 percent increase, with active data users rising to 8.8 million. The contribution of data revenue to total service earnings grew to 24.8 percent, up from 23.2 percent in the first half of 2023.

FinTech revenue reached 442.3 million Shillings, a 23.5 percent rise, with mobile money services contributing 430.8 million Shillings. Mobile money revenue grew by 25.7 percent, with transactional value at 69.4 trillion shillings, marking a 12.6 percent increase. FinTech businesses contributed 29.4 percent of the entire service revenue, up from 28.7 percent last year.

Mulinge also noted the increase in MTN Uganda's shareholder base to 20,636 shareholders, following the company’s secondary ordinary sales offer. “Notably, during the quarter ended 30th June 2024, MTN Uganda Limited fulfilled its 20 percent listing obligation on the Uganda Securities Exchange, following the secondary sale offer of approximately 1.6 billion ordinary shares in the company,” she explained.