MTN expects to add another 20.3 million subscribers to its base during the coming financial year.

The group, Africa`s largest cellular operator, this morning published its results for the year to December. It said subscribers grew 16.2%, to reach 164.5 million.

The Southern and East Africa region accounts for 37.6 million of these, while there are 71.5 million users in West and Central Africa, and 55.3 million in the Middle East and North Africa.

CEO and president Sifiso Dabengwa says the group expects to add another 20.3 million users during the full year. MTN`s last subscriber update said it had 158.6 million users at the end of September and it expected to add 21.8 million in total for the full year.

The operator says it should add 2.9 million in SA, four million in Nigeria, 950 000 in Ghana and another four million in Iran. MTN also expects to add 450 000 users in Syria and another eight million across the rest of the group.

Dabengwa says in SA, which has already reached more than 100% penetration, there is still scope to grow through second and third SIM cards. He adds that there is also a growing middle class and families are starting to own more than one handset.

MTN SA increased its subscriber base by 16.9%, to 22 million, largely due to growth of 17.6% in the prepaid segment to 18.2 million subscribers.

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