MTN Ivory Coast

		Launch date April 1996 MTN shareholding (%) 67,7 Market share (%) 36,4 Mobile penetration (%) 76,9 Population (million) 22,9 Forecast market size in 2014 (million) 13
Wim Vanhelleputte MTN Ivory Coast CEO

2012 performance

A return to stability in Ivory Coast in 2012, after the upheavals of 2011, supported MTN Ivory Coast's growth in the year. Access to the West African Cable System (WACS) sharply bolstered our broadband capacity and buoyed our data offering. Off a lower base in 2011, when the country experienced widespread political unrest, MTN recorded solid improvements in revenue and EBITDA.

We were, however, forced to disconnect 400 000 subscribers who failed to register their personal details, as required by the regulator, before year end. This led to a 3% decline in customers to 6,1 million. Those disconnected were mainly non-revenue-generating subscribers and hence their disconnection had no material impact on revenue.

Revenue and EBITDA grew 23% and 19% respectively. Our EBITDA margin narrowed by 1,3 percentage points in an intensely competitive environment, but remained above 40% thanks to the benefits of various cost optimisation initiatives. Margins were also impacted by the January 2012 increase by three percentage points in regulatory fees to 6,8% of revenue.

Data revenue increased significantly, helped by the availability of affordable data-enabled devices and a strong increase in data usage for browsing and games. MTN's access to WACS, in place since July 2012, improved connectivity and provided fast and affordable access to the internet. We are the only operator with a WiMax network and in December launched our 3G service.

Outlook

An important focus of 2013 will be extending mobile data usage in Ivory Coast, as well as furthering our Mobile Money drive. In support of this, we plan to roll out more fibre in Abidjan, as well as upgrade our intelligent network platform to allow for the quicker, easier launch of new products to maintain customer loyalty. We will also encourage the adoption of more smartphones by customers, to enable them to tap into MTN Ivory Coast's compelling data offerings.

Competition will likely remain intense. However, we will continue to develop new revenue streams in the six operator market where multiple SIM card use is commonplace. We expect the regulatory authority to step up quality-of-service monitoring. However, we intend maintaining a good quality network to remain competitive and avoid penalties.

Despite the challenges ahead, we expect 300 000 subscribers to join our network in 2013.

A snapshot of our performance

Delivery against strategic objectives

Creating and managing stakeholder value

• MTN Ivory Coast Foundation focused on opening multimedia classrooms in schools across the country. We will extend this programme in 2013.
• Continued to spend over R9 million a year on training our people, who are also enthusiastic volunteers in the Group's 21 days of the Y'ello Care initiative.
• Continued with our notional stock option scheme for employees; MTN is one of the few companies in the country that has such a scheme.
• Began preparing our application for a new mobile licence to replace the current licence when it expires in 2016. Following the implementation of the new telecoms act in 2012, the new licence will be a global one, independent of technology.

Creating a distinct customer experience

• Doubled our capital expenditure from 2011 when we had put our investment programme on hold because of widespread political unrest. In 2012, we brought 147 new 2G and 3G sites on air and laid 1 124 km of fibre.
• Made good progress on modernising the network through the swap out of 531 of a total 1 000 legacy sites, replacing them with a state-of-the-art Huawei network, while ensuring that the impact on customers was limited.
• Maintained our market share lead through the launch of numerous attractive propositions, despite intense competition.
• Bolstered uptake of our prepaid roaming offering as well as the prepaid Blackberry services.

Driving sustainable growth

• Launched 3G services in December after receiving our 3G licence in March 2012. In 2013 we expect a strong increase in data usage via smartphones, rather than dongles, as more people use these devices for browsing and playing.
• Accessed WACS submarine cable in July 2012, boosting capacity in support of our data drive.
• Positioned ourselves strongly to service corporate clients in Abidjan via our fibre network rather than through our 3G radio network only, thanks to our investment in 1 124 km of fibre optics in this city in the past few years.
• Accelerated the uptake of Mobile Money, particularly among NGOs who use the service to make cash payments to people in need.
• Facilitated the enrolment of up to 50 000 school children for the new school year through our partnership with the Ministry of Education, which allows parents to pay school fees via Mobile Money.

Transforming our operating model

• Expect to finalise a deal with tower management group IHS in the first quarter of 2013. This involves the sale of 931 mobile network towers for US$141 million and will allow MTN to monetise non-core assets by outsourcing its passive infrastructure.

Innovation and best practice

• Launched Pocket WiFi on our WiMax network, which enables customers to create a WiFi hotspot by simply carrying a small device.
• Engaged local singers to provide their music as content for call ringback tones; these were enthusiastically received.
• Launch SOS credit in 2013, which is emergency call credit to a certain profile of customers who can then reimburse us in the next two days.