The number of active MTN Uganda’s fintech users increased by 13.9 percent to 13.8 million, indicating that the fintech industry is still a major development driver, according to MTN Uganda’s 2024 Financial Year report released on Thursday.
Fintech revenue increased by 22.8 percent to UGX947.5 billion, supported by rising mobile money transaction volumes and a robust uptake of digital financial services.
The number of mobile money transactions increased by 26.6 percent to 4.3 billion, while the value of those transactions increased by 19.1 percent to UGX158.6 trillion.
Revenue from banking and payment solutions, as well as other advanced services, increased by 39.1 percent.
“We refined the criteria for our merchant activity, which resulted in a restatement of the number of merchants reported. Following the changes, our merchant network grew by 19.6 percent to 85.9k, supported by strategic investments in regional acquisition and merchant quality management, while our agents increased by 36.8 percent to 213k,” Mulinge noted.
Read also: Women in Leadership: Sylvia Mulinge steers MTN Uganda to historic UGX 641 billion profit in 2024
MTN Uganda successfully completed the second stage of its offering in June 2024, raising the percentage of public shares to 20 percent. Strong investor confidence was demonstrated by the secondary market offer, which was 2.3 times oversubscribed at UGX170 per share.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to create further shared value, partnering with our local shareholders to deepen the Uganda capital markets,” Mulinge stated.
Investors were rewarded with a 32.8 percent rise in the company’s final dividend, which was raised to UGX8.5 per share, making the full-year payout UGX22.6 per share.
MTN Uganda’s UGX4.6 billion investment in community projects
More than 6,800 recipients benefited from MTN Uganda’s continuous investment in community projects through the MTN Uganda Foundation, which allocated approximately UGX4.6 billion to programs related to healthcare, education, youth development, and disaster management.
“We remain committed to contributing meaningfully to the communities we serve through the MTN Uganda Foundation,” Mulinge stated.
Additionally, the organisation used smart energy monitoring systems to reduce Scope 1 emissions by 8.5 percent.
By increasing smartphone penetration, adding more fintech services, and carrying out the structural separation of its fintech business in accordance with MTN Group’s transformation strategy, MTN Uganda hopes to continue on its current development trajectory.
“We maintain our medium-term guidance framework of delivering service revenue growth in the ‘upper-teens’ with stable EBITDA margins above 50 percent,” Mulinge emphasised.
MTN Uganda is in a strong position to accelerate its commercial and operational activities in order to unlock even more value for stakeholders as it nears the end of its Ambition 2025 strategy.
“As we execute the final year of our strategy, we are energised to accelerate our commercial and operational initiatives in line with our strategic goals,” she added.
MTN Uganda is poised to sustain its dominance in Uganda’s telecom industry and promote greater financial and digital inclusivity with a strong financial foundation, wise investments, and an unwavering commitment to digital transformation.