By Dipo Olowookere
As part of a divestment plan announced in March, MTN Group Limited has sold some of its assets in the first six months of 2019, raising the sum of $140.24 million (about 2.1 billion rand) from the transactions.
Group Chief Executive of MTN Group, Mr Rob Shuter, informed reporters on Thursday in a post-earnings conference call, adding that, “We are well on track for our 15 billion rand (target) over three years.”
The Africa’s leading telecoms firm is reviewing a raft of investments under the three-year, 15 billion rand divestment programme as it moves to focus on high-growth markets in the Middle East and Africa.
In a statement, the firm said in the first half to June, it sold its shareholder loan in ATC Ghana to American Tower Corp for 900 million rand and its interests in investment fund Amadeus and booking website, Travelstart, for 1.2 billion rand.
The firm, which had its service revenue increased by 9.7 percent, but its earnings reduced by 9.3 percent, cut its stake in newly-listed Jumia Technologies to 18.9 percent from 29.7 percent after the listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The South Africa-based company disclosed that it was also in the process of redeeming MTN Nigeria preference shares for $315 million.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS), the main profit measure in South Africa, stood at 195 cents in the six-months through June, compared to 215 cents in June 2018.
HEPS were impacted by the new IFRS 16 accounting standard, Nigeria fine interest, foreign exchange gains and losses, hyperinflation and the depreciation of the Iranian real, which resulted in lower earnings from MTN Irancell.
Adedapo Adesanya