Stephen Blewett, MTN Ghana CEO.

MTN Group's Ghana operations said last week that it has met the West African country’s localisation requirements for its 4G licence.

MTN Ghana announced its results for the six-month period ending June 30, 2024, telling shareholders of the significant milestone.

“By the end of the second quarter, the level of local ownership of Scancom PLC was 27.9%. As a result, the regulator has confirmed Scancom PLC’s achievement of the 25.0% localisation requirement for its 4G licence,” said the company.

It added: “We are committed to further localise Scancom PLC and MobileMoney Limited, and we will continue to work closely with regulators and other relevant stakeholders towards achieving our goal.”

Scancom PLC is the registered name of the telco in Ghana. It also operates MobileMoney Limited as a standalone entity, owned by MTN Ghana.

This news comes as MTN Group, the largest telecoms provider in Africa, expands local investment in its operating companies across the continent.

MTN achieved a milestone in Nigeria, its main source of group earnings contribution, by increasing its local shareholder base to 139 000 retail investors in the March 2024 quarter.

A few weeks prior, the group had revealed plans to lower its investment in Nigeria by more than 10%, citing MTN's localisation mandate.

Similarly, MTN completed a share offer in Uganda last month after meeting the 20% minimum public float needed by Rule 32(7) of the Uganda Stock Exchange listing rules and the Uganda Communications Commission's regulations.

MTN Ghana results

During the review period, MTN Ghana grew its mobile customer base by 3.9% to 28.4 million, active data subscribers increased by 15.9% to 16.4 million, and active Mobile Money users by 16.2% to 16.5 million.

Financial metrics of MTN Ghana operations show that service revenue increased by 31.2% to $526 million (GHS8.1billion), while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation(EBITDA) increased by 31.3% to $298 million (GHS4.6 billion).

The EBITDA margin was maintained at 56.1%.

The total capital expenditure (capex) exceeded $181 million (GHS2.8 billion), with ex-lease capex at $110 million (GHS1.7 billion).

MTN's direct and indirect tax payments grew by 44.4% to $253 million (GHS3.9 billion). (2023): $175 million (GHS2.7 billion)

In six months, the interim dividend climbed by 30.0%.

Looking ahead, MTN Ghana, led by CEO Stephen Blewett, said that it will continue to invest in developing its platforms and improving its network and services to unlock value for stakeholders in accordance with its Ambition 2025 objective.

“We continue to explore efficiency measures, preserve liquidity and strengthen the balance sheet against a backdrop of election-related and macroeconomic uncertainties. MTN Ghana maintains its medium-term guidance of high twenties (in percentage terms) growth in service revenue,” said the company