Results overview

MTN delivered a strong set of results in challenging trading conditions in the year ended 31 December 2021. These were largely ahead of our medium-term targets, demonstrating the business' resilience and execution strength.

Group service revenue grew ahead of our medium-term targets with an increase of 18.3%* to R171.8 billion (2020: R170.1 billion), led by growth of 6.5% in MTN SA, 23.2%* in MTN Nigeria and 28.6%* in MTN Ghana. Double-digit overall top-line growth from the regions also contributed to the Group's result.

Our focus on industry-leading connectivity operations produced solid voice and data revenue growth.

Voice revenue increased by 5.2%*, enabled by a 3.3% growth in voice traffic. Well-executed customer value management (CVM) initiatives and segmented customer propositions continued to support voice growth.

Data revenue expanded by 36.5%* on the back of a 53.3% increase in data usage (to 6.4 GB per user per month). Although initially triggered by the effects of the pandemic, the higher demand for online work, education, social interaction and entertainment were sustained in 2021. As at 31 December 2021, we had 122.0 million active data users, up 11.1 million.

For the year, the number of people covered by our 3G and 4G networks increased as we added 14.5 million and 54.6 million respectively. We invested further in 5G in SA with the addition of 843 sites; recorded 145.5 million smartphones on our network (53.4% penetration of our customer base); and reduced the average effective rate per megabyte by 15.3% as we worked to bridge the digital divide.

MTN GlobalConnect (MTN GC), which is driving our fibreco ambitions, continues to scale its fixed connectivity and wholesale mobility services.

MTN GC delivered a strong commercial and financial performance for the year. We signed fixed external infrastructure deals to the value of US$38.4 million in total contract value terms (TCV) and delivered growth in external revenue of 30.0% YoY to US$288.4 million (total MTN GC revenue of US$503.6 million including mobility, up 29% YoY).

In the year, we continued to build scale infrastructure assets to meet the explosive growth in data traffic and the accelerating digital economy in Africa. During 2021 we rolled out terrestrial fibre in some of our markets including SA, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We concluded 15 new cross-border links across Africa.

In 2021, MTN rolled out over 15,000km of additional terrestrial fibre, of which MTN GC contributed approximately 4 400km, bringing our total inventory to approximately 100 000km of proprietary fibre. We also increased our subsea fibre capabilities and are preparing for the landing of 2AFRICA in four of our markets, where MTN GC will own fibre pairs around Africa to strengthen the network.

We target a structural separation of the fibre business to be completed in 2023, with asset separations already underway in markets such SA, Nigeria, Ghana Côte d'Ivoire and Uganda. Fibreco's have already been established in Zambia and Kenya. MTN GC is moving towards being a leading pan-African fibreco, with the strategic target to reach a footprint of 135 000km by 2025.

We continued to scale and accelerate our platforms, focused on building the largest and most valuable platforms.

Fintech revenue rose by 30.9%*. The number of active MoMo users increased by 10.4 million to 56.8 million compared to December 2020, generating a monthly ARPU of US$1.3. The value of MoMo transactions was up by 56.8% to US$239.4 billion and 10 billion transactions were processed, up 41.1% YoY. There were some reductions in pricing in markets such as Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon due to competitive dynamics, as well as to drive increased adoption. This resulted in some pressure on revenue growth in H2.

In Nigeria, we added 374 000 agents to end the year with approximately 770 000 registered MoMo agents. We were pleased to secure an approval in principle for a Payment Services Banking licence in Nigeria.

We progressed efforts to scale the payments platform. The number of active merchants accepting MoMo payments was up 78.3% YoY at 785 147 and the total value of MoMo merchant payments (gross merchandise value - GMV) expanded by 66.5% to US$13.3 billion.

The total value of remittances grew by 56.3% to US$2.3 billion at 31 December 2021. In BankTech we facilitated a total loan value of US$1.1 billion, a 47.4% YoY increase. Within InsurTech, our aYo insurance business had more than 16.1 million registered policyholders and 6.3 million active policies (up 5.6% YoY). In total, aYo generated US$8.0 million (R128.1 million) in service revenue and US$12.5million (R198.0 million) in premium income.

Digital revenue increased by 22.8%*, supported by the greater uptake of our services. Ayoba, our instant messaging super app, reached 11.6 million monthly active users' milestone as at 31 December 2021. This represents an addition of 6.1 million users since December 2020.

Launched in May 2019, ayoba is globally available with a focus on Africa and has been updated to include music, gaming, channels and money transfer services. The platform aims to harness growth in the African digital economy by breaking down barriers such as limited access to the internet and digital services, low smartphone penetration, lack of locally relevant content and affordability.

Enterprise revenue increased by 13.4%*, supported by growth in MTN SA, which delivered growth of 16.8%, benefiting from increased data usage through work-from- home solutions. Other key markets which contributed to growth included MTN Ghana and MTN Côte d'Ivoire, both of which benefited from some turnaround in the SME segments, albeit with continued headwinds from COVID-19 impacts. Enterprise ICT revenues delivered a 17.8% YoY increase assisted by the Group's platform transformation strategy and the establishing of a dedicated Centre of Excellence focussed on converged services solutions.

Enterprise revenue for MTN Nigeria grew at 10.4%* YoY, supported by the expansion of the core mobile business as we gained market share. Growth was driven through the ongoing short-term COVID-19 deals, the strengthening of its SME CVM initiatives and the sustained recovery of the ICT business.

Wholesale revenue increased by 49.7%* on the back of strong national roaming in MTN SA. We recognised revenue of R2.7 billion (up 33.9% YoY) from Cell C. A balance of R236 million of national roaming revenue remained unrecognised as at 31 December 2021. We have started to see a contribution from the Telkom roaming deal secured by MTN SA during the year, and we are progressing our efforts to meaningfully launch network as a service in some of our other markets such as Ghana and Cameroon.

The Group's EBITDA margin in constant currency terms, and excluding the effects of once-off items, expanded by 2.2pp* to 44.5%*. This included margin improvements of 2.0pp*, 1.8pp*, 2.3pp* and 2.6pp* delivered by MTN Nigeria, MTN Uganda, MTN Ghana and MTN Cameroon respectively.

The Group's reported EBITDA margin was 41.9% compared to 45.3% in December 2020. The 2021 figure included a number of non-operational items totalling a net ‑R4.6 billion. This comprises gains on disposal/transition of assets (R1.8 billion), loss on remeasurement/deconsolidation of MTN Syria (-R4.8 billion), impairment of MTN Yemen (-R0.6 billion), COVID-19 donations (-R0.5 billion) and arbitration settlement (-R0.5 billion).

The 2020 margin had also included the effects of the gain on disposal of our ATC Uganda and ATC Ghana tower associates (R6.1 billion) and the impairment loss on the remeasurement of the MTN Syria disposal group and remeasurement of BICS disposal group (-R0.8 billion).

The Group's overall underlying margin improvement in 2021 was supported by our expense efficiency programme. In the year, we realised a total of R3.7 billion worth of efficiencies, with the largest savings recorded by MTN SA and MTN Nigeria.

Basic earnings per share (EPS) decreased by 19.3% to 763 cents (2020: 946 cents). 2021 EPS were impacted by impairment losses of 64 cents relating mainly to MTN Yemen and derecognition losses relating to MTN Syria of approximately 262 cents. There was some offset arising from fair value gains amounting to approximately 99 cents, mainly from BICS and aYo. EPS in December 2020 had included the benefit from gains amounting to approximately 341 cents on the disposal of the ATC Uganda and ATC Ghana tower associates announced in March 2020.

Reported HEPS increased by 31.8% to 987 cents (2020: 749 cents). HEPS were negatively impacted by net non-operational and once-off items amounting to 123 cents from the following items: hyperinflation (excluding impairments) of 42 cents (30 cents in 2020), the impact of foreign exchange gains and losses of -111 cents (-168 cents in 2020), the reversal of the time value loss recognised on the Irancell receivable of 0 cents (10 cents in 2020), material COVID-19 donations of -24 cents (0 cents) as well as arbitration settlement of -30 cents (0 cents in 2020).

We thus continued to show pleasing momentum in the growth of underlying earnings at the bottom line; adjusting for items mentioned above, HEPS was up 26.6% to 1 110 cents (877 cents in 2020).

Accelerating our investment and expanding the capacity of our networks remained in focus despite varying COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. For the year we invested capex of R39.4 billion on an IFRS 16 reported basis, which is 19.2% higher YoY (up by 14.3% to R32.7 billion under IAS 17).

We rolled out 3 566 3G, 9 158 4G sites and 849 5G sites. Capex intensity edged up to 18.0% from 16.0% under IAS 17 in December 2020, as we continued to invest in the accelerated growth opportunities we have identified.

Group operating free cash flow (OpFCF) increased by 13.2% to R32.1 billion, benefiting from a good underlying EBITDA performance, driven by positive operating leverage. If payments made for licence renewals and spectrum acquisitions are adjusted for, OpFCF would have been 35.2% higher.

Return on equity (ROE) (adjusted for non-operational items, including hyperinflation) expanded 2.6pp to 19.6%, from 17.0% in December 2020, reflecting the improvement in the quality of our earnings. The solid result in ROE was enabled by the Group's healthy revenue growth, cost efficiency gains, positive operating leverage as well as lower finance costs and depreciation.

2021 was shaped by the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19 infections. Some markets saw rapid increases in cases, leading to tighter lockdown restrictions. Vaccination rates increased, with around ~11% of all Africans fully vaccinated by the end February 2022, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Increased vaccination rates will help keep people healthier, contribute to a return to normality in our social and professional lives as well as improve overall economic activity.

In the year, we continued to manage the effects of COVID-19 by focusing on four key areas: social (our people, communities and stakeholders); commercial (including our customers); network and supply chain; and funding and liquidity.

Social

Safeguarding the wellbeing of our staff, customers and communities is of utmost importance to us. For our people, in 2021 we permitted work from home for most staff; for those who are unable to work remotely, we enforced strict protocols. The MTN Global Staff Emergency Fund for employees and Y'ello Hope packages for other stakeholders continued to support our staff, customers and communities.

We remain committed to providing a safe workplace. MTN is now following a hybrid working policy, with a mix of on-site and work-from-home solutions. In December, we approved and rolled out a COVID-19 vaccination policy, which includes making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory. Through this policy, we aim to encourage more employees to vaccinate, ensuring the protection of themselves and others from the spread and adverse effects of the virus.

Through our partnership with the African Union (AU), we have contributed to efforts to limit the spread of the disease in Africa. Together, we launched the #OneMorePush campaign encouraging people to not give up in the fight against COVID-19, and to continue to wear their masks, wash their hands and practise social distancing.

This campaign was also an extension of the AU's 'Adapted Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Pandemic' endorsed by Africa's Health Ministers and aligned to the 'Prevent, Monitor and Treat' approach. We also extended the partnership by supporting the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines across the continent through the Group's US$25 million donation. Through this donation, 1.5 million vaccination doses have been delivered to 14 countries. 1.3  million doses are planned for delivery before end of Q1 2022 and will go to six countries – this will complete deliveries under the donation.

Commercial

After peaking amid the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020, our commercial trends in 2021 levelled out and remained resilient, lapping the high base of 2020.

Overall Group data traffic (including MTN Irancell) grew by 53.3% YoY in 2021. MTN SA was up by 58.3%, MTN Nigeria increased by 85.3%, and MTN Ghana was 54.9% higher.

Group fintech transaction volumes rose by 41.1% YoY and the value of fintech transactions in US dollar terms increased by 56.8%. In some markets, MTN continues to zero‑rate transactions to support customers and drive increased adoption.

Network and supply chain

Safeguarding the capacity and resilience of our networks remained of paramount importance. To cater for demand, we added 3 566 3G, 9 158 4G and 849 5G radio sites by 31 December 2021.

The headroom in our core data networks of our larger markets at peak utilisation was approximately 26% in South Africa, 27% in Nigeria and 35% in Ghana. Continual upgrades are in progress in these three markets, as well as others, ensuring that we are able to meet consumer and business demand.

Funding and liquidity

The resilience of our balance sheet was sustained. We accelerated the deleveraging of the Holdco balance sheet and optimised our debt mix, enabled by solid operational performance and cash flow generation, cash upstreaming, asset realisations and the prudent management of potential liabilities.

As at 31 December 2021, our Group net debt was R30.5 billion. Our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.4x remained well within our covenant limit of 2.5x. Our interest cover was 9.1x, comparing favourably with the covenant limit of no less than 5.0x.

We recorded a healthy liquidity position at the Holdco level: the Holdco net debt of R30.1 billion at December 2021 compared to the December 2020 level of R43.3 billion. Our Holdco leverage was 1.0x at year end (vs 2.2x in December 2020) - tracking well within our medium-term target of 1.5x. In achieving this, we repaid R21.5 billion in debt during the year, including the early redemption of the 2022 Eurobonds of US$500 million.

The acceleration in the deleveraging of our Holdco balance sheet was underpinned by the significant progress made in upstreaming cash to the Group. We upstreamed R18.4 billion in cash from our Opcos, including R7.8 billion from Nigeria. Post FY end, we upstreamed further cash of approximately R0.4 billion from Nigeria. As at 31 December 2021 the ratio of non-rand to rand-denominated debt at the Holdco improved to 41:59, from 48:52 in December 2020.

Our prudent approach to liquidity management resulted in Holdco liquidity headroom of R54.1 billion at 31 December 2021, made up of R20.1 billion in cash and R34.0 billion in committed, undrawn credit facilities.

Our focus over the medium term remains to deleverage faster through reducing our exposure to US dollar debt and improving the funding mix at the Holdco level through executing on our ARP, upstreaming cash from the operations and executing on liability management opportunities when they arise.

In the year we made good advances in creating shared value, one of our four strategic priorities of Ambition 2025. We remained steadfast in contributing to Africa's progress, driven by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life and our strategic intent of 'Leading digital solutions for Africa's progress'.

Across our markets we remain committed to driving digital and financial inclusion. We connected 23 million more people to broadband and improved affordability, with a 15.3% YoY reduction in the blended cost of data across our markets.

Our social and economic contribution made a meaningful impact on lives and livelihoods in our markets – this amounted to approximately R115 billion for 2021. We paid taxes of approximately R11.0 billion in support of the fiscal resources of the nation states in which we operate and invested R67.0 billion in our networks, advancing fixed investment. On the ground, we continued to support the livelihoods, including job creation and skills development, of approximately 6 million people.

The work to close the coverage gap in rural areas continued through our rapid rural rollout programme (R3) by rolling out 912 additional rural sites (2020: 684). Since the inception of the programme, we have expanded our coverage to more than 23 million (2020: 8.5 million) people in rural areas.

Our commitment to improve our ESG performance led to a significant upgrade in the Group's ESG rating by FTSE Russell to an overall rating to 4.3 (out of 5) at end‑December 2021 from 2.9 previously. MTN is now placed above the mobile telecoms sub-sector average and was also included in the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Top 30 Index.

In respect of eco-responsibility, we advanced our efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2040, including working closely with our suppliers to reduce our scope 3 emissions. We remain committed to reduction of carbon emissions by 47% (off a 2019 base) by 2030 across scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 emissions, and to achieving net zero by 2040.

Our work to accelerate portfolio transformation progressed in the year. Our ARP, launched in March 2019 and enhanced in March 2020, aims to reduce debt, simplify our portfolio, reduce risk and improve returns. MTN's broader portfolio transformation plan is to accelerate these goals in line with our focus on pan-Africa, support our shared value objectives and structure the business to reveal value.

During FY 2021, the Group received net proceeds of 4.1 billion (including BICS and MTN Uganda IPO) and we expect further net proceeds of approximately R8.8 billion from the successful MTN Nigeria public offer and the sale of MTN SA's passive tower infrastructure once completed.

In October, IHS Towers – which is key to our ARP - listed and started trading on the NYSE after a public offering of 18 million ordinary shares priced at US$21.00 each. MTN now holds 85 176 719 ordinary shares, which is 26.0% of the asset. There was no secondary offer following the initial public offering (IPO) and MTN thus did not sell any shares, however the listing creates a liquidity platform and future opportunities to monetise the financial investment we have in this business. As at 31 December 2021, IHS traded at US$14.10/share.

In November, MTN SA announced a passive tower infrastructure transaction with IHS Towers. This entailed the sale and leaseback of 5 709 towers: approximately 4 000 greenfield and 1 700 rooftop sites. Completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent which include regulatory approvals. We anticipate net proceeds of R5.2 billion from the transaction.

In the year we made very good progress with localisations, which also supports our work to create shared value, broadening local participation and deepening the capital markets in which we operate.

In May, MTN Rwanda listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange by introduction. In December 2021, we completed the IPO and listing of MTN Uganda on the Uganda Securities Exchange. Of the 4.5 billion shares (20% of MTN Uganda) on offer, 2.9 billion were allocated, realising net proceeds of R2.3 billion. The listing of MTN Uganda was ranked by Dealogic as the second largest SSA IPO in 2021.

Also in December 2021, we proceeded with a public offer for sale of up to 575 million shares in MTN Nigeria, by way of a bookbuild to institutional investors and fixed price to retail investors of NGN169 per share. After year-end the offer was successfully completed and was 1.39 times oversubscribed with a total of 802.0 million shares subscribed for by more than 126 000 investors. These included Nigerian retail and institutional investors. According to Dealogic, this was the largest SSA public offer in 2021.

Net proceeds anticipated from the offer amount to approximately R3.6 billion. Following the offer, MTN Group's shareholding in MTN Nigeria consequently reduced from 78.8% to 75.6%. We will continue the work to deliver on our stated intention of broadening the local shareholder base in MTN Nigeria, subject to market condition and regulatory approvals, with a goal to hold approximately 65% of the business in the medium-term.

We also continue our work for the further localisation of MTN Ghana, concluding a staff ESOP scheme of approximately 5% that takes the localisation level in the Opco to 17.5%. The Group is working on further localisation efforts in Ghana and now targeting a further 12.5% to achieve a 30% localisation outcome as part of the shared value strategy.

In line with our pan-Africa focus, we advanced our exit from the Middle East. We abandoned the operation in Syria in August 2021 – having deconsolidated the operation in February 2021 – given the regulatory actions and demands that made operating there untenable. We exited from our operation in Yemen through a transfer of our shareholding to a third party in November 2021 for a consideration of AED1. We continue to explore options to exit Afghanistan in an orderly manner.

SIM registration in Nigeria

In December 2020, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) suspended the sale and activation of new SIMs for all operators in Nigeria, directing them to update SIM registration records with national identification numbers (NINs) for every SIM connected to networks in the country.

Since then, MTN Nigeria has made good progress, with approximately 44 million subscribers having submitted their NINs by 31 December 2021. This represents around 64% of the subscriber base and 74% of service revenue.

MTN Nigeria continues to actively support the Federal Government's NIN enrolment programme, having deployed more than 2 300 points of enrolment across the country. At the same time, MTN Nigeria is working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to accelerate the bulk verification of NINs collected.

The current deadline for NIN verification is 31 March 2022. While an extension is solely in the hands of the authorities, MTN Nigeria is working constructively with them and the industry, supporting the NIN enrolment drive, to ensure that customers are not unduly inconvenienced and the service revenue for 2022 is not significantly impacted.

Spectrum allocation and auction in South Africa

On 26 November 2021, ICASA granted the provisional assignments of radio frequency spectrum to operators (including MTN SA) as an interim measure and a step towards urgently finalising the permanent high-demand spectrum licensing process. The licences are valid from 1 December 2021 to 30 June 2022 or three months after the termination of the National State of Disaster, whichever comes first.

In December, ICASA issued a final Invitation to Apply (ITA) in respect of the licensing process for the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum. The regulator resolved to separate the auction of high-demand spectrum and the licensing of the Wireless Open Access Network.

The qualifying bidders were announced 21 February 2022 and the commencement of the actual auction was launched on 8 March 2022 for the opt-in round, and the main auction will take place on 10 March 2022.

MTN SA looks forward to the finalisation of the licensing process, as it will enable the provision of faster and more widespread high-speed data services and result in the reduction in the cost of data to consumers, as well as an increase in consumer access to the internet. This supports our commitment to bridge the digital divide and deliver on our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life.

MTN Ghana classification as a significant market power

Since October 2020, MTN Ghana has applied a 30% asymmetrical interconnect rate, effective for two years, in line with a directive from the National Communications Authority (NCA) which followed its classification of MTN Ghana as a significant market power. MTN Ghana remains in constructive discussions with the NCA and will update stakeholders on any significant developments.

Final dividend of 300cps for FY 2021

MTN's Board of directors (Board) had suspended dividend payments in 2020 and MTN guided in 2021 that the suspension would remain in place until March 2022. We also guided that the Group anticipates paying a minimum ordinary final dividend of 260cps for FY 2021.

We are, therefore, pleased to announce that the Board has declared a final ordinary dividend of 300cps for FY 2021.

Annual dividend declaration policy

We also previously advised that the Board would communicate a revised medium-term dividend policy along with the announcement of FY 2021 results. We accordingly announce that the Board has resolved to adopt a policy where, at the announcement of full year results, a minimum dividend guidance will be provided for the financial year ahead on an annual basis.

The new policy supports the enhanced capital allocation framework of the Group, where investment in our core connectivity businesses and platforms and faster deleveraging of the Holdco balance sheet are prioritised over the medium term.

Increased capital expenditure over the medium term will drive higher service revenue growth, with Group capex intensity (under IAS 17) anticipated to reduce in the medium term in the range of 18% to 15%, supporting operating cash flow growth.

In driving faster deleveraging of the Holdco balance sheet, we will focus on completing the ARP and accelerate the reduction of dollar debt exposures.

In line with our policy, the Board anticipates paying a minimum ordinary final dividend of 330cps for FY 2022.

The declaration and payment of dividends remains at the discretion of the Board in consideration of:

• Repatriation of cash from key markets
• Holdco leverage, debt maturity profile and reducing dollar debt mix
• Holdco liquidity management

Disciplined capital allocation framework remains intact

The new policy will enable the Company to continue to adhere to its disciplined capital allocation framework, which prioritises:

• Capital investment to grow the Group's platform and connectivity businesses
• Maintain Holdco leverage within guidance levels, with focus on optimising debt mix and paying down non-ZAR debt
• Return cash to shareholders in alignment with the new dividend policy
• Selective M&A opportunities aligned to investment case as well strict risk and financial criteria
• Special dividends or share buy-backs to considered if there is surplus cash after meeting other capital allocation priorities

Rm	Estimated  (IFRS 16) 2022	Estimated  (IAS 17) 2022		Capitalised  (IFRS 16) 2021	Capitalised  (IAS 17) 2021	Capitalised  (IFRS 16) 2020	Capitalised  (IAS 17) 2020
South Africa	9 539	8 650		10 409	9 139	7 542	7 209
Nigeria	15 777	10 444		14 905	11 092	12 694	10 016
SEA	4 015	2 977		3 608	2 601	3 042	2 279
WECA	10 437	8 215		7 477	6 869	6 439	6 028
MENA	1 250	1 126		1 015	812	1 642	1 573
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	2 993	2 988		1 804	1 960	1 286	1 127
Total	44 011	34 400		39 218	32 473	32 645	28 232
Hyperinflation	–	–		167	215	394	377
Total reported	44 011	34 400		39 385	32 688	33 039	28 609
Iran (49%)	2 564	2 463		2 237	2 400	1 865	1 773

Headline earnings reconciliation

Rm	IFRS  reported  2021	Impairment   of goodwill,   PPE and   associates1	Loss on   decon-   solidation   of subsidiary2	Impairment   loss on   remeasure-   ment of   disposal   group3	Gain on   disposal /   dilution of   investment in   JV/Associate   and fair value   gain on   acquisition of   subsidiary4	Other5	Headline  earnings
2021
Revenue	181 646	–	–	–	–	–	181 646
Other income	1 889	–	–	–	(1 791)	–	98
CODM EBITDA before impairment of goodwill	76 158	545	4 720	53	(1 791)	(79)	79 606
Depreciation. amortisation and impairment of goodwill	(35 223)	583	–	–	–	–	(34 640)
CODM EBIT	40 935	1 128	4 720	53	(1 791)	(79)	44 966
Net finance cost	(14 448)	–	–	–	–	–	(14 448)
Hyperinflationary monetary gain	275	–	–	–	–	–	275
Share of results of associates and joint ventures after tax	2 054	–	–	–	–	(8)	2 046
Profit before tax	28 816	1 128	4 720	53	(1 791)	(87)	32 839
Income tax expense	(11 822)	–	–	–			(11 822)
Profit after tax	16 994	1 128	4 720	53	(1 791)	(87)	21 017
Non-controlling interests	(3 244)	9	–	(13)	–	12	(3 236)
Attributable profit	13 750	1 137	4 720	40	(1 791)	(75)	17 781
EBITDA margin	41.9%						43.8%
Effective tax rate	41.0%						36.0%

Rm	Hyper-   inflation   (excluding   impair-   ments)6	Impact of   foreign   exchange   losses and   gains7	Reversal of   time value   loss   recognised   on the Iran   receivable8	Vaccine   donations9	Other     non-     operational     items10	Adjusted  2021	%  movement
2021
Revenue	13	–	–	–	–	181 659	3.0
Other income	(9)	–	–	–	–	89	(21.6)
CODM EBITDA before impairment of goodwill	5	–	–	486	536	80 633	7.3
Depreciation. amortisation and impairment of goodwill	175	–	–	–	–	(34 465)	(0.0)
CODM EBIT	180	–	–	486	536	46 168	13.6
Net finance cost	(213)	2 899	–	–	–	(11 762)	(12.2)
Hyperinflationary monetary gain	(275)	–	–	–	–	–	0.0
Share of results of associates and joint ventures after tax	(546)	(78)	–	–	–	1 422	(4.9)
Profit before tax	(854)	2 821	–	486	536	35 828	24.6
Income tax expense	62	(718)	–	(31)		(12 509)	20.9
Profit after tax	(792)	2 103	–	455	536	23 319	26.7
Non-controlling interests	30	(102)	–	(15)		(3 323)	26.4
Attributable profit	(762)	2 001	–	440	536	19 996	26.8
EBITDA margin						44.4%
Effective tax rate						34.9%

Rm	IFRS  reported  2020	Impairment   of goodwill,   PPE and   associates1	Loss on   decon-   solidation of   subsidiary2	Impairment   loss on re-   measurement   of disposal   group3	Gain on   disposal /   dilution of   investment in   JV/Associate   and fair value   gain on   acquisition of   subsidiary4	Other5
2020
Revenue	179 361	–	–	–	–	–
Other income	6 228	–	–	–	(6 129)	–
CODM EBITDA before impairment of goodwill	81 311	42	–	1 113	(6 129)	(22)
Depreciation. amortisation and impairment of goodwill	(36 716)	1 065	–	397	–	–
CODM EBIT	44 595	1 107	–	1 510	(6 129)	(22)
Net finance cost	(18 233)	–	–	–	–	–
Hyperinflationary monetary gain	1 582	–	–	–	–	–
Share of results of associates and joint ventures after tax	1 142	–	–	–	–	–
Profit before tax	29 086	1 107	–	1 510	(6 129)	(22)
Income tax expense	(9 439)	–	–	–	–	–
Profit after tax	19 647	1 107	–	1 510	(6 129)	(22)
Non-controlling interests	(2 625)	(9)	–	(7)	–	1
Attributable profit	17 022	1 098	–	1 503	(6 129)	(21)
EBITDA margin	45.3%
Effective tax rate	32.5%

Rm	Headline  earnings	Hyper-    inflation    (excluding    impair-    ments)6	Impact of   foreign   exchange   losses and   gains7	Reversal   of time   value loss   recognised   on the Iran   receivable8	Vaccine   donations9	Other non-     operational     items10	Adjusted  2020
2020
Revenue	179 361	(2 925)	–	–	–	–	176 436
Other income	99	15	–	–	–	–	114
CODM EBITDA before impairment of goodwill	76 315	(1 186)	–	–	–	–	75 129
Depreciation. amortisation and impairment of goodwill	(35 254)	951	–	(174)	–	–	(34 477)
CODM EBIT	41 061	(235)	–	(174)	–	–	40 652
Net finance cost	(18 233)	868	3 972	–	–	–	(13 393)
Hyperinflationary monetary gain	1 582	(1 582)	–	–	–	–	–
Share of results of associates and joint ventures after tax	1 142	69	284	–	–	–	1 495
Profit before tax	25 552	(880)	4 256	(174)	–	–	28 754
Income tax expense	(9 439)	193	(1 103)	–	–	–	(10 349)
Profit after tax	16 113	(687)	3 153	(174)	–	–	18 405
Non-controlling interests	(2 640)	148	(137)	–	–	–	(2 629)
Attributable profit	13 473	(539)	3 016	(174)	–	–	15 776
EBITDA margin	42.5%						42.5%
Effective tax rate	36.9%						36.0%

1	Represents the exclusion of the impact of goodwill, PPE, intangibles and joint venture impairments. 2021: Goodwill (Yemen: R550 million and Mednet: R33 million) and PPE (R545 million); 2020: MEIH (R67million), goodwill (Liberia: R308 million, Guinea-Bissau: R165 million and Yemen: R525 million) and PPE (R42 million).
2	Represents the deconsolidation of Syria (2021: R4 720 million; 2020: R0 million).
3	Represents the impairment loss on remeasurement of disposal group: 2021: Syria (R40 million); 2020: Syria (R1 106 million) and BICS (R397 million).
4	Represents the gain on disposal of investment in JV/Associate and fair value gain on acquisition of subsidiary. 2021: Fair value gain on acquisition of aYo (R526 million), the profit on sale of BICS (R1 212 million), profit on sale of Namibia (R38 million) and profit on disposal of Yemen (R15 million); 2020: Gain on disposal of tower companies (R6 136 million) and loss on disposal of CCA (R7 million).
5	Represents the net profit on disposal of PPE and intangibles. 2021: PPE (R76 million profit), intangibles (R9 million loss) and share of results from Iran (R8 million profit); 2020: PPE (R21 million).
6	The impact of hyperinflation is excluded for the operations that are currently accounted for on a hyperinflationary basis (MTN Irancell, MTN Sudan and MTN South Sudan), as well as those that have previously been accounted for on a hyperinflationary basis. The economy of Iran was assessed to be hyperinflationary effective 1 January 2020 and hyperinflation accounting has since been applied. The economy of Sudan was assessed to be hyperinflationary during 2018 and hyperinflation accounting has since been applied. The economy of South Sudan was assessed to be hyperinflationary effective 1 January 2016 and hyperinflation accounting has since been applied.
7	Adjustment for the net forex (gains)/losses impacting earnings for the respective periods. 2021: Forex loss of R2 001 million; 2020: Forex loss of R3 016 million). This includes the impact of forex in Iran.
8	Represents the (reversal)/recognition of the time value loss recognised on the Iran receivable (2021: R0 million; 2020: -R174 million).
9	Represents the donations contributed towards vaccinations for COVID-19 (2021: R440 million; 2020: R0 million).
10	Represents other non-operational items relating to arbitration settlement (2021: R536 million; 2020: R0 million).

The stronger average rand against most local currencies had a negative overall translation impact on rand-reported results. The average naira weakened 7.1% YoY against the US dollar and closed 5.6% weaker. The average rand strengthened by 10.2% YoY against the US dollar and closed 7.9% weaker, which impacted negatively on the balance sheet especially owing to our US dollar-denominated debt.

Table 1: Group revenue by country

	Actual  Rm	Prior Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change	Contribution  to revenue  %
South Africa	48 716	45 473	7.1	7.1	26.8
Nigeria	60 050	57 980	3.6	22.7	33.1
SEA	16 955	16 789	1.0	22.4	9.3
Uganda	8 549	8 320	2.8	9.7	4.7
Zambia	2 429	2 576	(5.7)	11.0	1.3
Other SEA	5 977	5 893	1.4	54.3	3.3
WECA	48 005	44 872	7.0	18.2	26.4
Ghana	19 187	17 245	11.3	28.0	10.6
Cameroon	7 244	6 686	8.3	16.2	4.0
Côte d'Ivoire	8 903	8 776	1.4	9.0	4.9
Other WECA	12 671	12 165	4.2	12.9	7.0
MENA	6 550	10 423	(37.2)	47.1	3.6
Sudan	2 226	3 306	(32.7)	294.0	1.2
Afghanistan	2 092	2 310	(9.4)	9.2	1.2
Other MENA^	2 232	4 807	(53.6)	13.1	1.2
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	1 383	899			0.8
Total	181 659	176 436	3.0	17.6	100.0
Hyperinflation	(13)	2 925			(0.0)
Total reported	181 646	179 361	1.3	17.6	100.0

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

In constant currency terms, Group total revenue increased by 17.6%* and service revenue increased by 18.3%*, supported by growth across most of our operations: MTN SA (up 6.5%), MTN Nigeria (up 23.2%*), MTN Uganda (up 9.3%*), MTN Ghana (up 28.6%*), MTN Cote d’Ivoire (up 9.0%*) and MTN Cameroon (up 16.4%*).

Group revenue in our connectivity business: voice grew by 5.2%* to R82.4 billion, data expanded by 36.5%* to R56.5 billion. Group revenue in our platforms: fintech grew by 30.9%* to R15.9 billion, digital was up by 22.8%* to R3.3 billion, enterprise revenue grew by 13.4%* to R16.6 billion and wholesale increased by 49.7%* to R6.0 billion.

Table 2: Group service revenue by country

	Actual  Rm	Prior  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change	Contribution   to service  revenue  %
South Africa	39 446	37 024	6.5	6.5	23.0
Nigeria	59 943	57 686	3.9	23.2	34.9
SEA	16 744	16 577	1.0	22.5	9.7
Uganda	8 465	8 267	2.4	9.3	4.9
Zambia	2 352	2 471	(4.8)	12.0	1.4
Other SEA	5 927	5 839	1.5	54.8	3.4
WECA	47 782	44 569	7.2	18.4	27.8
Ghana	19 131	17 125	11.7	28.6	11.1
Cameroon	7 206	6 640	8.5	16.4	4.2
Côte d'Ivoire	8 856	8 729	1.5	9.0	5.2
Other WECA	12 589	12 075	4.3	13.0	7.3
MENA	6 537	10 402	(37.2)	47.1	3.8
Sudan	2 220	3 295	(32.6)	294.3	1.3
Afghanistan	2 085	2 301	(9.4)	9.3	1.2
Other MENA^	2 232	4 806	(53.6)	13.1	1.3
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	1 383	900			0.8
Total	171 835	167 158	2.8	18.3	100.0
Hyperinflation	(14)	2 914			(0.0)
Total reported	171 821	170 072	1.0	18.3	100.0

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

Table 3: Group revenue analysis

	Actual  Rm	Prior  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change	Contribution  to revenue  %
Outgoing voice1	71 676	78 811	(9.1)	5.8	39.5
Incoming voice2	10 774	12 290	(12.3)	1.4	5.9
Data3	56 454	47 615	18.6	36.5	31.1
Digital4	3 269	3 133	4.3	22.8	1.8
Fintech5	15 906	13 563	17.3	30.9	8.8
SMS	4 173	3 959	5.4	18.4	2.3
Devices	9 824	9 278	5.9	6.9	5.4
Wholesale6	6 029	4 204	43.4	49.7	3.3
Other	3 554	3 583	(0.8)	10.2	2.0
Total	181 659	176 436	3.0	17.6	100.0
Hyperinflation	(13)	2 925			(0.0)
Total reported	181 646	179 361	1.3	17.6	100.0

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria’s results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen’s results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
1	Excludes international roaming and wholesale.
2	Includes local and international roaming and excludes wholesale.
3	Includes mobile and fixed access data and excludes roaming and wholesale.
4	Includes rich media services, content VAS, eCommerce and mobile advertising.
5	Includes Xtratime and mobile financial services.
6	Includes domestic wholesale voice, SMS and data, leased lines and BTS rentals.

Table 4: Group data revenue¹

	Actual  Rm	Prior  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change
South Africa	16 479	14 565	13.1	13.1
Nigeria	18 729	14 360	30.4	55.3
SEA	3 692	3 314	11.4	39.5
Uganda	1 717	1 505	14.1	22.5
Zambia	607	599	1.3	20.7
Other SEA	1 368	1 210	13.1	84.4
WECA	15 109	11 689	29.3	43.6
Ghana	6 865	5 066	35.5	56.1
Cameroon	2 300	1 834	25.4	34.8
Côte d'Ivoire	2 154	1 645	30.9	41.4
Other WECA	3 790	3 144	20.5	30.9
MENA	2 192	3 458	(36.6)	65.2
Sudan	825	1 240	(33.5)	298.6
Afghanistan	730	703	3.8	25.9
Other MENA^	637	1 515	(58.0)	18.0
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	253	229
Total	56 454	47 615	18.6	36.5
Hyperinflation	31	1 091
Total reported	56 485	48 706	16.0	36.5

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria’s results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen’s results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
1	Includes mobile and fixed access data and excludes roaming and wholesale.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

Table 5: Group fintech revenue²

	Actual  Rm	Prior  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change
South Africa	1 089	1 052	3.5	3.5
Nigeria	2 559	1 931	32.5	57.0
SEA	3 536	3 163	11.8	22.6
Uganda	2 181	2 111	3.3	10.0
Zambia	584	515	13.4	31.2
Other SEA	771	537	43.6	68.3
WECA	8 685	7 268	19.5	32.9
Ghana	4 711	3 928	19.9	37.3
Cameroon	1 110	883	25.7	35.0
Côte d'Ivoire	1 129	1 156	(2.3)	5.0
Other WECA	1 735	1 301	33.4	44.0
MENA	57	146	(61.0)	18.8
Sudan	2	2	0.0	100.0
Afghanistan	19	16	18.8	35.7
Other MENA^	36	128	(71.9)	5.9
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	(20)	3
Total	15 906	13 563	17.3	30.9
Hyperinflation	(4)	(23)
Total reported	15 902	13 540	17.4	30.9

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria’s results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen’s results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
2	Includes Xtratime and mobile financial services.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

Table 6: Group digital revenue³

	Actual  Rm	Prior  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change
South Africa	1 340	1 118	19.9	19.9
Nigeria	657	410	60.2	91.5
SEA	62	127	(51.2)	(39.2)
Uganda	18	24	(25.0)	(18.2)
Zambia	12	55	(78.2)	(73.9)
Other SEA	32	48	(33.3)	(5.9)
WECA	1 065	1 140	(6.6)	6.6
Ghana	440	559	(21.3)	(4.3)
Cameroon	152	111	36.9	47.6
Côte d'Ivoire	327	316	3.5	10.8
Other WECA	146	154	(5.2)	3.5
MENA	143	331	(56.8)	49.0
Sudan	41	117	(65.0)	105.0
Afghanistan	38	34	11.8	35.7
Other MENA^	64	180	(64.4)	33.3
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	2	7
Total	3 269	3 133	4.3	22.8
Hyperinflation	(1)	89
Total reported	3 268	3 222	1.4	22.8

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria’s results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen’s results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
3	Includes rich media services, content VAS, eCommerce and mobile advertising.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

Table 7: Cost analysis

	Actual  Rm	Prior  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change	%  of revenue
Handsets and other accessories	10 552	10 899	(3.2)	(0.6)	5.8
Interconnect	8 744	9 867	(11.4)	4.0	4.8
Roaming	912	872	4.6	16.0	0.5
Commissions	12 121	13 919	(12.9)	(1.2)	6.7
Government and regulatory costs	6 745	6 274	7.5	21.2	3.7
VAS/Digital revenue share	2 602	2 884	(9.8)	23.9	1.4
Service provider discounts	3 854	1 321	191.7	192.2	2.1
Network and IS maintenance	27 611	17 867	54.5	82.5	15.2
Marketing	3 539	2 948	20.0	32.1	1.9
Staff costs	11 698	12 616	(7.3)	1.3	6.4
Other opex	13 619	21 760	(37.4)	(27.7)	7.5
Total	101 997	101 227	0.8	14.3	56.2
Loss on deconsolidation of subsidary	4 720	–			2.6
Impairment loss on MTN Yemen PPE and intangible assets	609	–			0.3
Impairment loss on remeasurement of disposal group	53	1 510			0.0
Hyperinflation	(2)	1 541			(0.0)
Total reported	107 377	104 278	3.0	14.3	59.1

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.

Total costs increased by 14.3%*, due to higher network costs from site rollout and the forex impact and CPI impact on BTS lease rentals from MTN Nigeria. Increased commissions paid by MTN Ghana contributed to higher costs.

Included in total costs are non-operational and once-off items, namely: R0.5 billion for COVID-19 donations and arbitration settlement of R0.5 billion. Adjusting for these items, costs were up by 13.1%*.

Our expense efficiency programme includes an enhanced oversight of expenditure such as distribution, IT and network costs. The programme has since facilitated a containment of overall cost increases. The total realised efficiencies for the year were R3.7 billion, mainly from network and sales and efficency. Total efficiencies included approximately R1 440 million, R935 million and R282 million in savings from MTN Nigeria, MTN SA and MTN Cote d'Ivoire respectively.

Table 8: Group EBITDA by country

	Actual Rm	Prior Rm	Reported % change	Constant Currency % change
South Africa	18 956	17 742	6.8	6.8
Nigeria	31 852	29 506	8.0	27.8
SEA	7 847	7 705	1.8	25.0
Uganda	4 387	4 118	6.5	13.7
Zambia	556	765	(27.3)	(11.6)
Other SEA	2 904	2 822	2.9	62.1
WECA	19 369	17 717	9.3	21.9
Ghana	10 557	9 097	16.0	33.8
Cameroon	2 507	2 149	16.7	25.5
Côte d'Ivoire	3 096	3 042	1.8	9.1
Other WECA	3 209	3 429	(6.4)	1.4
MENA	2 082	3 352	(37.9)	56.2
Sudan	1 085	1 428	(24.0)	361.7
Afghanistan	615	585	5.1	27.1
Other MENA^	382	1 339	(71.5)	(37.8)
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	(355)	(699)
CODM EBITDA	79 751	75 323	5.9	22.1
Gain on disposal/dilution of investment in joint ventures and associates	1 212	6 129
Fair value gain on acquisition of subsidiary	526	–
Profit on disposal of Namibia and Yemen	53
Loss on deconsolidation of subsidiary	(4 720)	–
Impairment loss on MTN Yemen PPE and intangible assets	(609)	–
Impairment loss on remeasurement of disposal group	(53)	(1 510)
Hyperinflation	(2)	1 369
CODM EBITDA before impairment of goodwill and joint ventures	76 158	81 311	(6.3)	22.1

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

Group EBITDA decreased by 6.3% on an IFRS reported basis. On a constant currency basis before once-off items, EBITDA increased by 23.7%. This was driven by healthy operational results across most operations, with MTN SA up 6.8%, MTN Nigeria up 27.8%*, MTN Ghana up 33.8%* and increases of 25.0%*and 21.9%* in SEA and overall WECA respectively.

The strong service revenue and EBITDA growth resulted in an increase in the Group EBITDA margin by 1.6pp* to 43.9%*. Excluding the COVID-19 donations and arbitration settlement, the EBITDA margin was 44.5%*.

Table 9: Group depreciation and amortisation

		Depreciation				Amortisation
	Actual Rm	Prior Rm	Reported % change	Constant currency % change	Actual Rm	Prior Rm	Reported % change	Constant currency % change
South Africa	9 130	8 417	8.5	8.5	1 294	1 062	21.8	21.8
Nigeria	8 984	9 598	(6.4)	11.3	1 626	1 576	3.2	21.8
SEA	1 954	1 978	(1.2)	10.8	786	411	91.2	107.4
Uganda	1 131	1 138	(0.6)	6.1	619	327	89.3	101.0
Zambia	258	298	(13.4)	3.2	94	81	16.0	36.2
Other SEA	565	542	4.2	26.1	73	3	2 333.3	3 550.0
WECA	7 167	7 339	(2.3)	7.1	1 383	1 531	(9.7)	0.4
Ghana	2 172	2 137	1.6	16.7	398	368	8.2	24.4
Cameroon	1 494	1 655	(9.7)	(3.1)	213	246	(13.4)	(6.2)
Côte d'Ivoire	1 741	1 636	6.4	14.5	321	546	(41.2)	(36.2)
Other WECA	1 760	1 911	(7.9)	(0.3)	451	371	21.6	37.5
MENA	594	1 263	(53.0)	(13.3)	302	470	(35.7)	(14.2)
Sudan	45	202	(77.7)	18.4	8	24	(66.7)	60.0
Afghanistan	416	526	(20.9)	(4.8)	79	97	(18.6)	(1.3)
Other MENA^	133	535	(75.1)	(36.7)	215	349	(38.4)	(19.5)
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	432	503			813	552
Total	28 261	29 098	(2.9)	8.5	6 204	5 602	10.7	23.9
Hyperinflation	136	810			39	141
Total reported	28 397	29 908	(5.1)	8.5	6 243	5 743	8.7	23.9

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

The Group depreciation charge increased by 8.5%* as the trajectory continued to normalise following the elevated capex profile of the past few years. Amortisation costs increased by 23.9%* driven largely by IT software in MTN SA and network licences in MTN Nigeria and MTN Uganda.

At every reporting period, the Group performs impairment testing on our assets. For the year, the Group made goodwill impairments of R583 million, including R550 million for MTN Yemen. This resulted from a write down of the cash-generating unit's recoverable amount, which the Group considered to be negligible.

Table 10: Net finance cost

	Actual Rm	Prior Rm	Reported % change	Constant currency % change	% of revenue
Net interest paid/(received)	11 763	13 393	(12.2)	(3.3)	6.5
Net forex losses/(gains)	2 898	3 972	(27.0)	(36.7)	1.6
Total	14 661	17 365	(15.6)	(12.5)	8.1
Hyperinflation	(213)	868			(0.1)
Total reported	14 448	18 233	(20.8)	(12.5)	8.0

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.

Net finance costs decreased by 12.5%* to R14.4 billion, driven by a decrease in forex losses and a lower interest rate environment. Finance costs relating to interest-bearing liabilities decreased by 19.3% to R5.8 billion (from R7.1 billion) following repayment of debt.

The average cost of borrowing declined by 0.2pp to 7.6% from 7.8% as the interest rate environment declined together with a reduction in debt, underpinned by improved cash generation enabled by a strong underlying performance.

We recognised net forex losses of R2.6 billion at 31 December 2021 compared to R4.5 billion in the prior year. This was largely due to the stronger rand.

We recorded a positive contribution of R2.1 billion from associates and joint ventures, compared to R1.1 billion in the prior year. The contribution was largely attributable to MTN Irancell's strong financial performance which was supported by a stronger Iranian rial.

Table 11: Taxation

	Actual  Rm	Prior  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change	Contribution  to taxation  %
Normal tax	11 719	9 293	26.1	45.6	99.1
Deferred tax	(1 186)	(1 469)	19.3	12.1	(10.0)
Foreign income and withholding taxes	1 227	1 421	(13.7)	(9.3)	10.4
Total	11 760	9 245	27.2	46.1	99.5
Hyperinflation	62	194			0.5
Total reported	11 822	9 439	25.2	46.1	100.0

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.

The reported Group effective tax rate (GETR) was 41.0% - higher than the prior year's rate of 32.5%, mainly due to the non-deductible loss on deconsolidation of subsidiary, the non-deductible impairment of goodwill, PPE and intangible assets in MTN Yemen; and withholding taxes on dividends repatriated from MTN Nigeria. The GETR in December 2020 had benefited from the non-taxable gain from the disposal of the tower companies.

For the year ended 31 December 2021, the Group's reported taxation charge increased by 25.2% to R11.8 billion. Normalising for the aforementioned items, the underlying GETR was 35.5% (December 2020: 37.0%) - this is in line with our medium-term guidance range (mid-to-high 30%s).

Cash inflows generated from operations increased by 12.8% to R88.7 billion, driven by a strong operational performance across our markets. Key cash outflows included tax paid of R11.0 billion, net interest paid of R11.0 billion and capex of R35.2 billion (R6.2 billion of which relates to spectrum and operating licence payments).

Underlying operating free cash grew by 13.2% to R32.1 billion, driven by positive operating leverage. If payments made for licence renewals and spectrum acquisitions are adjusted for, OpFCF would have been 35.2% higher.

Table 12: Capital expenditure

	Actual  IFRS 16  Rm	Actual  IAS 17  Rm	Prior  IAS 17  Rm	Reported  % change	Constant  currency  % change
South Africa	10 409	9 139	7 209	26.8	26.8
Nigeria	14 905	11 092	10 016	10.7	27.7
SEA	3 608	2 601	2 279	14.1	44.0
Uganda	1 743	1 104	1 032	7.0	13.0
Zambia	507	507	436	16.3	45.1
Other SEA	1 358	990	811	22.1	106.1
WECA	7 477	6 869	6 028	14.0	22.7
Ghana	3 651	3 110	2 773	12.2	25.0
Cameroon	967	961	900	6.8	15.5
Côte d'Ivoire	1 290	1 265	1 036	22.1	33.4
Other WECA	1 569	1 533	1 319	16.2	15.3
MENA	1 015	812	1 573	(48.4)	24.7
Sudan	504	470	473	(0.6)	726.8
Afghanistan	378	216	257	(16.0)	2.5
Other MENA^	133	126	843	(85.1)	(67.2)
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	1 804	1 960	1 127
Total	39 218	32 473	28 232	15.0	25.4
Hyperinflation	167	215	377
Total reported	39 385	32 688	28 609	14.3	25.4

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

Table 13: Net debt analysis

Rm	Cash and   cash   equivalents*	Interest- bearing  liabilities	Inter- company  eliminations	Inter- company  eliminations	Net debt/  (cash)  December  2021	Net debt/  (cash)  December  2020
South Africa	3 733	27 501	(27 501)	–	(3 733)	(1 901)
Nigeria	17 467	18 539	–	18 539	1 072	1 877
SEA	1 907	5 085	(527)	4 558	2 651	1 725
Uganda	847	1 633	–	1 633	786	1 321
Zambia	81	1 598	(172)	1 426	1 345	962
Other SEA	979	1 854	(355)	1 499	520	(558)
WECA	6 353	12 256	(4 657)	7 599	1 246	6 082
Ghana	2 723	1 438	–	1 438	(1 285)	377
Cameroon	809	1 276	(427)	849	40	1 095
Côte d'Ivoire	696	2 392	–	2 392	1 696	2 973
Other WECA	2 125	7 150	(4 230)	2 920	795	1 637
MENA	900	3 397	(3 397)	–	(900)	(1 384)
Sudan	378	3 397	(3 397)	–	(378)	(451)
Afghanistan	522	–	–	–	(522)	(283)
Other MENA^	–	–	–	–	–	(650)
Head offices, GlobalConnect and eliminations	20 057	50 208	(2)	50 206	30 149	43 282
Total reported	50 417	116 986	(36 084)	80 902	30 485	49 681
Iran	1 779	663	–	663	(1 116)	(426)

The constant currency percentage changes only included the first 2 months of MTN Syria's results and the first 10 months of MTN Yemen's results in the Group and the respective country results of 2020.
*	Includes restricted cash and current investments.
^	Numbers are inclusive of MTN Syria and MTN Yemen up to the date of deconsolidation effective February 2021 and October 2021 respectively.

Group net debt reduced to R30.5 billion from R49.7 billion in December 2020, driven by an improved operational cash position and debt repayments. Holdco borrowings declined to R30.1 billion, from R43.3 billion in December 2020, also boosted by the cash upstreamed from Opcos. At the end of December 2021, our Holdco leverage had improved to 1.0x, compared to our medium-term target of below 1.5x.

The currency mix of MTN's Holdco debt as at 31 December 2021 was 41% US dollar/euro and 59% rand (December 2020: 48% and 52% respectively), reflecting pleasing advances in our work to optimise the mix of our Holdco debt.

We closed the year comfortably within our debt covenants, which are evaluated on a Group consolidated basis. Our Group net debt-to-EBITDA ratio stood at 0.4x at 31 December 2021 (December 2020: 0.8x) against our covenant of 2.5x. Our interest cover ratio was 9.1x (December 2020: 7.7x) compared to the covenant of no less than 5.0x. Our Group cash balance at the end of December 2021 was R50.4 billion.

MTN South Africa

• Service revenue increased by 6.5%
• Data revenue increased by 13.1%
• Fintech revenue increased by 3.5%
• Digital revenue increased by 19.9%
• EBITDA increased by 6.8%
• EBITDA margin decreased by 0.1pp to 38.9%
• Capex of R10.4 billion on IFRS reported basis (R9.1 billion under IAS 17)

MTN SA delivered very strong overall results in 2021, on sustained commercial and operational execution across all business units. The Opco maintained a solid growth trajectory in all core businesses, namely: the prepaid consumer business unit (CBU); the postpaid CBU; the enterprise business unit (EBU); and the wholesale business.

This performance was achieved in a challenging macroeconomic and consumer backdrop and increasing unemployment rates in industries such as hospitality and tourism. MTN SA was also impacted by shifts in customer spending patterns as lockdown restrictions abated and the movement of people increased. This intensified the competition for share of the consumer's wallet.

Service revenue grew by 6.5%, exceeding the medium-term target and supported by healthy performances by prepaid CBU (up 2.1%), postpaid CBU (up 4.5%), EBU (up 16.8%) and wholesale (up 21.7%).

In a highly competitive market, MTN SA sustained it #1 NPS position and recorded market share gains in voice and data.

The number of subscribers increased by 3.0 million to 35.0 million as churn stabilised and MTN SA recorded higher gross additions. The postpaid subscriber base recovered well, aided by data value offers and advanced CVM churn management, with a 456 000 increase in subscribers to 7.4 million.

MTN SA added 2.4 million prepaid subscribers to close the year at 27.6 million, supported by an increase in 4G customers. The CBU business recorded the highest base growth in more than four years, with an increase in the number of active data users.

Data consumption accelerated in 2021, with data traffic growth of 58.3% and a 12.5% increase in the number of customers actively using the internet. As at 31 December 2021, MTN SA had 17.7 million active data users. This drove a 12.2% increase in overall mobile data revenue.

MTN SA's work to make data more affordable led to a 29.7% reduction in the effective data tariff. An active prepaid data subscriber now consumes an average of 2.3GB of data a month and an active postpaid data subscriber uses nearly 10.3GB per month.

The consumer postpaid business remained resilient in the year with service revenue growth of 4.5%. The focus on subscriber additions driven by channel expansion, well-managed churn and a consistent drive of SIM-only and data-orientated packages contributed to this growth.

The consumer prepaid business's performance was supported by strong data revenue, however there was offset by pressure from voice substitution, challenging macroeconomic conditions and increased split of consumer wallet share. Service revenue increased by 2.1%, slowing in the fourth quarter.

The enterprise business delivered a 16.8% increase in service revenue. The business recorded growth for nine consecutive quarters supported by the expansion of the core mobile business as MTN SA gained market share. Growth was driven through fixed data deals, strengthening of the SME CVM initiatives and the sustained recovery of the ICT business.

In March 2021, MTN SA was appointed as a service provider to the national government, enabling an expansion of service offerings to the public sector through the leveraging of its strong network quality. The enterprise business continued to grow its market share in this segment.

Wholesale revenue increased by 21.7%, supported by the national roaming deal with Cell C and solid growth in the MVNO portfolio. Revenue recognition remains on a cash basis as Cell C works towards its recapitalisation. MTN SA recognised R2.7 billion (up 33.9% YoY) in national roaming revenue from Cell C and a balance of R236 million remained unrecognised, as at 31 December 2021. MTN SA continues to invest in the expansion of its network capacity to further enable infrastructure sharing.

During the year MTN SA concluded a new multi-year national roaming agreement with Telkom which came into effect on 1 November 2021. MTN SA will provide 2G, 3G and 4G services to Telkom. This agreement aligns with the Group's strategy to monetise the investments it has made in networks and continue to build on the network as a service (NaaS) platform, where MTN SA is a key driver. In line with this strategy, MTN SA's MVNO business continues to grow. At the end of 2021, there were over 550k active customers, from MVNO partners connected to the MTN network.

The fintech business launched in February 2020 continued to grow, with 4.2 million registered MoMo users and 602 000 MAU on 31 December 2021. The growth in uptake surpasses that achieved in previous launches, setting the foundation to pass the key inflection point of one million MAU within the next 12 months. The platform continues to grow transactions driven by innovative and relevant solutions - such as airtime, electricity, gaming, e-commerce and e-government services.

MTN SA achieved EBITDA of R19.0 billion (up 6.8% YoY) with an EBITDA margin of 38.9%. Share price appreciation had a significant impact on the IFRS 2 expenses recorded by MTN SA. Excluding these impacts, MTN SA would have recorded EBITDA growth of 13.8% with a margin of 41.4%, within the medium-term guidance range.

This 2.4pp* YoY EBITDA margin improvement resulted from a solid service revenue performance and the successful execution of the expense efficiency programme. MTN SA improved device gross margins through the optimisation of device subsidies, which contributed 0.5pp to the EBITDA margin expansion.

The profitability of the business was supported by a strong operational performance. Profit after tax (PAT) of R4.7 billion was up 82.1%, also benefiting from lower finance costs and operational improvements. MTN SA's adjusted free cash flow grew to R8.3 billion (up 32.1%) on the back of EBITDA growth and improvement in working capital.

MTN SA sustained the best network quality in South Africa, as shown in both customer and independent measures over the course of 2021. MTN SA has now maintained this leadership position for three years in a row. The Opco maintained its #1 network NPS through most of the year, with a clear focus on accelerating 5G, launched in June 2020. MTN SA currently has over 1 000 5G sites across several spectrum bands, with plans to significantly scale up should it be allocated 3 500MHz high-demand spectrum.

Network availability and leadership came under some pressure in Q4 due to increased frequency in electricity outages and MTN SA is rolling out a comprehensive resilience plan aimed at maintaining network leadership.

MTN SA was announced as a 2022 Top Employer in South Africa. The Top Employers Institute programme certifies organisations based on the participation and results of their HR Best Practices Survey. Being certified as a Top Employer showcases an organisation's dedication to a better world of work and exhibits this through excellent HR policies and people practices.

MTN SA's outlook will continue to be shaped by the macroeconomic conditions in the country and the impact on consumer behaviour. In this regard, there is increased pressure in the consumer prepaid business, particularly for lower-income customers impacted by job losses. MTN SA is accelerating its high growth business areas, with ongoing emphasis on the overall expense efficiency programme to deliver EBITDA and cash flow growth.

MTN Nigeria

• Service revenue increased by 23.2%*
• Data revenue increased by 55.3%*
• Fintech revenue increased by 57.0%*
• Digital revenue increased by 91.5%*
• EBITDA grew by 27.8%*
• EBITDA margin increased by 2.0pp* to 53.0%*
• Capex of R14.9 billion on an IFRS 16 reported basis (R11.1 billion under IAS 17)

Service revenue grew by 23.2%* despite the 10.6% decline in MTN Nigeria's subscriber base. Data continued to lead service revenue growth, supported by voice, fintech and digital service.

Voice revenue grew by 8.0%* due to higher usage in the active SIM base, resulting in a 7.9% growth in minutes of use. This was supported by the success of customer value management (CVM) initiatives, reducing the impact of SIM registration and activation restrictions in H1 and network restrictions in some locations towards the end of 2021.

In addition, MTN Nigeria continued to ramp up gross connections through our rural telephony initiatives while expanding our customer acquisition points, further supporting growth in voice revenue.

MTN Nigeria's data revenue rose by 55.3%*, maintaining an accelerated growth trajectory in Q4 as it continued to accelerate the expansion of our 4G coverage, enhance the quality and capacity of its network to support increasing data traffic, and grow active data users.

Average MB per active user rose by 62.7%, enabling overall data traffic growth of 85.3%. Also, smartphone penetration on the network grew by 4.0pp to 50%. MTN Nigeria's 4G network now covers 70.3% of the population, up from 60.1% in December 2020.

Fintech revenue rose by 57.0%* due to sustained growth in the use of Xtratime and broader fintech services by customers. MTN Nigeria expanded its MoMo agent network, through its one distribution strategy, with the addition of over 374 000 registered agents bringing the total number to approximately 770 000, up 94.8%. As a result, transaction volume rose by 167.0% to 137.5 million from an active user base of 9.4 million, up 102.0%.

Additionally, the Approval in Principle MTN Nigeria recently obtained in relation to its MoMo PSB licence application is an important step towards final approval, which will allow the Opco to expand its service offerings and scale its fintech business, thereby achieving more meaningful financial inclusion in the country.

Digital adoption in Nigeria continues to accelerate as customers use more digital products and services, a trend accelerated by COVID-19. As a result, digital revenue grew by 91.5%* as the active user base grew and penetration of our digital products deepened. The active user base rose by 162.1% to 7.5 million led by instant messaging platform ayoba, with active users up 172.9% to approximately 3.8 million.

Enterprise business performance was underpinned by the onboarding of new customers across key segments and the uptake of enhanced services. As a result, service revenue from MTN Nigeria's enterprise business was up by 10.9%*. Pleasingly, the implementation of the new pricing framework for USSD services will pave the way for full recovery of the outstanding debts.

On the costs side, MTN Nigeria made good progress with its expense efficiency programme realising R1.4 billion in cost savings, representing a 1.5pp* margin impact. However, the continued effects of naira depreciation on lease rental costs, acceleration in site rollout, and ongoing COVID-19 related expenditure resulted in operating expenses increasing by 21.7%*. Despite this, MTN Nigeria's ability to drive operating leverage drove EBITDA growth of 27.8%* and a 2.0pp* expansion in EBITDA margin to 53.0%*.

MTN Nigeria sustained higher demand for data, which extended beyond the usage spikes seen during COVID lockdowns. This drove acceleration of capex investment. As a result, capex in the period was up by 27.7%* to R14.9 billion, as MTN Nigeria ramped up investment in its network to capture growth through service quality leadership and aggressive coverage expansion, focusing on the 4G network.

MTN Nigeria deployed 9 336 4G sites representing approximately 75% of the total sites deployed during the period, reflecting solid data revenue growth.

Free cash flow was up by 21.1%*, substantiating the quality of MTN Nigeria's accelerated investment. Capex under IAS 17 was R11.1 billion, with capex intensity remaining within target levels at 18.5%*.

Southern and East Africa (SEA)

• Service revenue increased by 22.5%*
• Data revenue increased by 39.5%*
• Fintech revenue increased by 22.6%*
• Digital revenue declined by 39.2%*

In the year, MTN's SEA region weathered persistently challenging trading conditions including the ongoing health crisis, slow economic recovery and higher inflation to yield double-digit top-line growth across most markets. This result was achieved on the back of strong growth in data and fintech revenue. Total subscribers increased by 2.2 million to 35.1 million.

MTN Uganda recorded service revenue growth of 9.3%*. This was supported by an uplift in data revenue (up 22.5%*) which was driven by sustained growth in the base and usage and fintech revenue (up 10.0%*) as basic services continued to grow steadily. Voice revenue (up 3.4%*) came under some pressure in H2 due in part to revised offerings that provided more value to customers, particularly during lockdown periods.

Despite the challenging conditions in the market, MTN Uganda's EBITDA margin expanded by 1.8pp* to 51.3%* on the back of revenue growth and effective implementation of expense efficiencies.

MTN Rwanda demonstrated its resilience through the year, delivering strong service revenue growth of 24.0%*. The uplift in service revenue was supported by solid fintech revenue growth (up 65.4%*) driven by growth in the active base, data revenue (up 18.8%*) and voice revenue (up 12.1%*). The Opco delivered EBITDA margin of 47.6%* down 1.2pp, impacted mainly by higher cost of sales as a result of increased interconnect and fintech costs.

The rest of the SEA portfolio also reported a pleasing set of results for the year, with MTN Zambia and MTN South Sudan growing at a double-digit rate. A positive operating leverage was achieved in the year with service revenue growing ahead of costs in most markets. Disciplined cost containment measures across the region supported a 1.0pp* YoY expansion in the blended SEA portfolio EBITDA margin to 46.3%*.

Our associate investment in eSwatini has also delivered strong results for the year, driven by data and fintech; both supported by the underlying penetration into the base (smartphone penetration of 57% and MoMo penetration of 58.6%).

West and Central Africa (WECA)

• Service revenue increased by 18.4%*
• Data revenue increased by 43.6%*
• Fintech revenue increased by 32.9%*
• Digital revenue increased by 6.6%*

The WECA region recorded a decent performance for the year, supported by double-digit growth across most Opcos as well as an expansion of the subscriber base. The solid performance was brought about by the work that was carried out to accelerate data and fintech revenue in the year.

Service revenue growth of 18.4%* was well in excess of the blended inflation (8.0%) of the region. The continued momentum in the year on the expense efficiency programme which delivered cost optimisation resulted in most WECA Opcos improving their EBITDA margins for the year. The aggregate EBITDA margin of WECA increased by 1.2pp* to 40.3%*. Total subscribers increased by 4.5 million to 68.1 million.

MTN Ghana delivered a solid result, as the country began its recovery from COVID-9 impacts. The resilience of the business and diligent execution of Ambition 2025 commercial initiatives led to service revenue growth of 28.6%*. This performance was boosted mainly by data (up 56.1%*) and fintech (up 37.3%*) as the Opco drove increased digital and financial inclusion in the year. The EBITDA margin increased by 2.3pp* to 55.0%*.

MTN Côte d'Ivoire's ongoing base growth, segmented marketing approach and aggressive sales & distribution led to service revenue growth of 9.0%*. The positive result was supported by growth in data revenue (up 41.4%*) and fintech revenue (up 5.0%*). The EBITDA margin rose by 0.1pp* to 34.8%*.

MTN Cameroon reported service revenue growth of 16.4%* in a challenging environment where the Opco continues to have leading market share. This was supported by focused value propositions which led to growth in data (up 34.8%*), fintech (up 35.0%*) and digital (up 47.6%*) revenue. The EBITDA margin for MTN Cameroon expanded by 2.6pp* to 34.6%*.

Overall, excluding MTN Ghana, the WECA markets grew service revenue by 12.5%* - compared to blended inflation of 5.3%, on the same basis - and reported a 0.6pp* decline in EBITDA margin to 30.6%*.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (excluding Iran)

• Service revenue increased by 47.1%*
• Data revenue increased by 65.2%*
• Fintech revenue increased by 18.8%*
• Digital revenue increased by 49.0%*

Notwithstanding difficult trading conditions in the region, the Opcos within the MENA portfolio delivered a strong performance with a solid EBITDA margin despite local currency devaluations and high inflation which were managed through a focus on optimisation initiatives. This performance was supported by solid growth in data, with an increase in active data users and smartphone penetration. The total number of subscribers (excluding MTN Irancell) was 15.3 million.

MTN Sudan increased service revenue by 294.3%*, underpinned by growth in voice (up 307.2%*) supported by re-pricing, and data (up 298.6%*) on the back of an increase in data bundle prices and usage. The EBITDA margin expanded by 7.1 pp* to 48.7%*, driven by strong growth in revenue.

MENA service revenue increased by 47.1%*, with the EBITDA margin increasing by 1.9pp to 31.8%*. This includes MTN Syria and MTN Yemen, which were exited during 2021, on a like-for-like basis.

Excluding MTN Syria, which is consolidated for just two months in the period and MTN Yemen (consolidated for 10 months), MENA blended EBITDA margin was 39.4%* (up 10.4pp*).

Telecoms operations

MTN Irancell delivered a healthy performance in the year despite the economy operating under US sanctions and being negatively impacted by the pandemic. Service revenue grew by 33.2%*, with voice revenue up by 19.2%* and data revenue up by 41.5%*. As at 31 December 2021, the total number of subscribers was 50.4 million.

MTN Irancell's EBITDA margin contracted by 0.5pp* to 36.4%* due to higher costs which were partially impacted by currency devaluation and increased site roll-out. Invested capex was R2.4 billion under IAS 17. The value of the Irancell loan and receivable at 31 December 2021 was R3.4 billion.

E-commerce investments

The Iran Internet Group (IIG) continued its strong growth in 2021. Ride-hailing app Snapp remained the market leader, ranking among the top ride-hailing apps globally and reaching 3 million daily rides. Food delivery app Snappfood is the largest food delivery platform in the country, with 215k daily orders. Last-mile delivery service Snappbox maintained its position as market leader with almost 250k orders daily.

Within Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH), ride-hailing service Jeeny and cleaning service app Helpling continued to recover strongly from the impact of COVID-19, with Jeeny reaching a peak of 85k daily rides. These e-commerce holdings, while important investments, are not viewed as long-term strategic holdings for the Group and form part of the ARP.

Investments in tower and infrastructure companies

As at 31 December 2021, the fair value of our 26.0% investment in IHS was recognised at R19.1 billion. IHS Towers listed on the NYSE and started trading on 14 October 2021. IHS Towers concluded its IPO of 18 million ordinary shares at a public offering price of US$21.00 per share.

MTN now holds 85 176 719 ordinary shares of IHS Towers which results in a 26.0% investment, a dilution from 29.0% due to the management shares and the primary issue of 18 million additional shares at IPO. Management shares are part of the long-term incentive plan where 15.8 million shares vest immediately at IPO.

Positioning the business for accelerated growth and relevance to 2025

The MTN Group demonstrated resilience under a challenging trading environment which featured ongoing COVID-19 uncertainties. Our focus on strategy execution as well as sustaining commercial momentum led to the delivery of service revenue that tracked favourably against our medium-term guidance and expanded EBITDA margins. We are encouraged by the delivery of 15 successive quarters of operating improvements.

COVID-19 has accelerated development of digital ecosystems across our markets and led to a significant uptake in telecommunication services and supported shifts to cashless payments. Although accelerated by the pandemic, this increased demand and growth is sustaining at higher levels.

Our Ambition 2025 strategy is supporting greater digital and financial inclusion across Africa while aligning to the development agendas of nation states. We want to take advantage of the opportunity to win in digital services as customers come online for the first time as we see a notable demand for digital services. We are well positioned to capture the opportunities for growth while unlocking value.

Our strategy is underpinned by a solid financial framework with a value-based approach to capital allocation and improving returns.

Driving industry-leading connectivity operations

In our drive to be the industry-leading connectivity business, we are focused on accelerating growth in MTN SA and MTN Nigeria. In terms of the operating environment, South Africa is experiencing pressure, particularly in the lower-income consumer segment due in part to job losses. This is impacting MTN SA's consumer prepaid segment. In Nigeria, economic activity is expected to normalise in 2022 benefitting from higher oil prices and moderating inflation. MTN Nigeria is well-positioned to sustain accelerated growth in the medium-term.

We will continue to drive sustained growth in data throughout our footprint and 'Own the Home'. Our target over the medium term is to grow our total subscriber base to 300 million, our mobile data users to 200 million data and our home broadband users to 10 million.

Building the largest and most valuable platforms

Scaling and building the largest and most valuable platforms is key and underpin our long-term growth outlook and achieving our medium-term guidance targets. Mobile Money remains a prime growth driver as it plays a critical role in enhancing financial inclusion. We aim to exponentially increase MoMo and ayoba active users to 100 million over the medium term as we move from a product to a platform play.

For the year ahead we will continue our work to structurally separate our fintech and fibre businesses. We aim to have a clear operational and resourcing focus to accelerate growth while allowing the entities to leverage the MTN base, brand, network and footprint. The separated operations will remain controlled by the Group but will be better able to engage value-adding partnerships to scale and accelerate their growth as well as reveal the value held within the Group.

We secured the approval in principle for a Payment Services Banking licence in Nigeria and await the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which will help to complete the setup of the Group fintech holding company. Once this is completed, we plan to secure strategic partners into the Group fintech holding company in the course of 2022 in order to support the accelerated growth of the business.

Structural separation of the fibre businesses is targeted for 2023, depending on the regulatory approvals required for cross-market fibre deployment.

Driving financial efficiencies and investing in accelerated growth

We are targeting more than R5 billion in expense efficiencies over three years (with 2020 as a baseline) and are on track to achieving this. We are working with hyperscalers on taking over 80% of our network and IT workloads over time into the cloud. This virtualisation of workloads will drive efficiencies over time that will support improvement in returns.

The further strengthening of our financial position by accelerating the deleveraging of our Holdco balance sheet, protecting liquidity and preserving cash are key as we will focus on upstreaming cash from the markets and executing on our ARP and portfolio transformation.

As we work to deliver accelerated growth across our operations and defend our 'second-to-none' networks and platforms position, investing appropriately in the capacity and resilience of our networks and technology platforms will be crucial. Our guidance for capex in 2022 is R34.4 billion. We will have an increased focus on reducing capex intensity, with an expected range of between 18% to 15% as the business continues to grow over the medium term.

A step-change in approach to sustainability and improving our risk profile

We have taken a step change in our sustainability approach and further improving the risk profile of the Group. While we have made good progress in this area, we continue to work towards more notable improvements in ESG.

To this end, we are committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. To accelerate diversity and inclusion, we set a target of 50% women representation of executives and boards across our Opcos and 50% (from 39% currently) women in the workforce overall by 2030. Creating shared value is integral to the sustainability of our business as we work to play our part in the socioeconomic development of our markets and, in turn, our continent.

Enhanced medium-term guidance

Against a backdrop of anticipated higher and sustained growth opportunities in our markets, we have enhanced elements of our medium-term (three to five years) guidance framework.

Group service revenue: 'at least mid-teens' percentage growth in Group in constant currency terms (from 'low-to-mid teens').

MTN SA service revenue: mid-single-digit percentage growth from MTN SA (unchanged).

MTN Nigeria service revenue: 'at least 20%' growth in constant currency terms from MTN Nigeria (from 'mid-teens' percentage growth).

Fintech service revenue: 'at least 20%' of Group service revenue contribution by 2025 (unchanged).

Holdco leverage: target ratio over the medium term of 'below 1.5x', with increased focus on faster reduction of non-ZAR borrowings and optimising debt mix.

Adjusted ROE: improvement towards 25% (from 'at least 20%').

Swazi Tshabalala retirement at the 2022 annual general meeting (AGM)

In compliance with paragraph 3.59 of the JSE Listings Requirements, the board of directors of the Company wishes to advise shareholders of the following Board change:

MTN announces that Swazi Tshabalala will not stand for re-election at the 2022 AGM and will step down as a director of the Company immediately after the AGM on 25 May 2022.

Swazi has indicated a wish to focus on her executive responsibilities because of the exponential changes in her role and responsibilities arising from her appointment as Senior Vice President at the African Development Bank.

Swazi has been a director of MTN since 2018 and has served on the Group Audit Committee, Group Remuneration and Human Resources Committee, and Directors Affairs and Governance Committee for the last four years.

Swazi has been a valuable member of the Board, and the Board would like to express its gratitude for her significant contribution to the Company and guidance to management. The MTN Board wish her great success in the new role.

Other Board changes

In the year we announced the following changes to the Board effective 1 April 2021, unless otherwise stated:

• Tsholofelo Molefe was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO) and executive director;
• Nosipho Molope was appointed as an independent non-executive director;
• Noluthando Gosa was appointed as an independent non-executive director; and
• Azmi Mikati retired as a non-executive director effective 28 May 2021, as part of the structured board evolution process which has been underway since 2019; we thank him for his service over many years and wish him well.

Senior management changes

In support of the execution and acceleration of Ambition 2025, we announced an evolution to the executive committee structure where MTN's core connectivity business will be streamlined into South Africa, Nigeria and Markets (comprising of WECA, SEA and MENA), the legal and regulatory responsibilities are now consolidated into one and sustainability as well strategy will form part of the Executive Committee (Exco) going forward.

We also announced the following evolution in the Group's management and Exco responsibilities, which all became effective on 1 February 2022 unless otherwise stated:

• Charles Molapisi assumed the position of CEO of MTN SA, effective 1 January 2022;
• Mazen Mroue was appointed as Group Chief Technology Information Officer (CTIO);
• Ebenezer Asante assumed the new role of Senior Vice President (SVP) of Markets, with overall P&L responsibility of the three regions. Part of the focus is to ensure seamless execution of the structural separation of the fintech and infraco assets within the Markets portfolio;
• Serigne Dioum assumed the streamlined role of Group Chief Fintech Officer;
• Jens Schulte-Bockum, the Group COO, became responsible for driving the faster scaling of all platforms other than fintech. The digital, infraco, enterprise services, network as a service and Chenosis platforms now all report to Jens;
• Nompilo Morafo was appointed as the Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer; and
• Chika Ekeji was appointed as the Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer.

Notice is hereby given that a gross final dividend of 300 cents per share for the period to 31 December 2021 has been declared and will be paid out of revenue reserves. The number of ordinary shares in issue at the date of this declaration is 1 884 269 758 (including 2 775 926 treasury shares held by MTN Holdings, the 1 434 152 shares held by the 2016 MTN ESOP trust and 76 835 378 shares held by MTN Zakhele Futhi).

The dividend will be subject to a maximum local dividend tax rate of 20% which will result in a net dividend of 240 cents per share to those shareholders who bear the maximum rate of dividend withholding tax of 60 cents per share. The net dividend per share for the respective categories of shareholders for the different dividend tax rates is as follows:

• 0%	300.00 cents per share

• 5%	285.00 cents per share

• 7.5%	277.50 cents per share

• 10%	270.00 cents per share

• 12.5%

  262.50 cents per share

• 15%	255.00 cents per share

These different dividend tax rates are a result of the application of tax rates in various double-taxation agreements as well as exemptions from dividend tax.

MTN's tax reference number is 9692/942/71/8. In compliance with the requirements of Strate, the electronic settlement and custody system used by the JSE Limited, the salient dates relating to the payment of the dividend are as follows:

Declaration date	Wednesday, 9 March 2022
Last day to trade cum dividend on the JSE	Tuesday, 29 March 2022
First trading day ex dividend on the JSE	Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Record date	Friday, 1 April 2022
Payment date	Monday, 4 April 2022

No share certificates may be dematerialised or re-materialised between Wednesday, 30 March 2022 and Friday, 1 April 2022, both days inclusive. On Monday, 4 April 2022 the dividend will be transferred electronically to the bank accounts of certificated shareholders who make use of this facility. In respect of those who do not use this facility, cheques dated Monday, 4 April 2022 will be posted on or about this date. Shareholders who hold dematerialised shares will have their accounts held by the Central Securities Depository Participant or broker credited on Monday, 4 April 2022.

For and on behalf of the board

8 March 2022
Fairland
Date of release 9 March 2022

Lead sponsor
JP Morgan Equities South Africa Proprietary Limited

Joint sponsor
Tamela Holdings Proprietary Limited

Definitions:

• All financial numbers are YoY unless otherwise stated
• All subscriber numbers are compared to the end of December 2021 unless otherwise stated
• Service revenue excludes device and SIM card revenue
• Data revenue is mobile and fixed access data and excludes roaming and wholesale
• Fintech includes MoMo, insurance, airtime lending and ecommerce
• MoMo users are 30-day active users
• CODM EBITDA (referred to as EBITDA) is defined as earnings before finance income and finance costs (which includes gains or losses on foreign exchange transactions), tax, depreciation and amortisation, and is also presented before recognising the following items: the impact of hyperinflation, impairments of goodwill, property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and joint ventures, fair value gain on acquisition of subsidiary, impairment loss on remeasurement of non-current assets held for sale, loss on deconsolidation of subsidiary and profit on disposal of associates and subsidiaries, arbitration settlement and COVID-19 donations. EBITDA including these once-off items increased by 22.1%*.
• CODM EBIT is CODM EBITDA before impairment of goodwill less Depreciation, amortisation and impairment of goodwill
• ROE is calculated based on reported Group HEPS of 1 110 cps after adjusting for non-operational impacts of 123 cps. Equity is also adjusted for non-operational items such as hyperinflation
• Holdco leverage: Holdco net debt (including MTN GC)/SA EBITDA + cash upstreaming
• ARPU: average revenue per user
• SME: small and medium-sized enterprises
• MVNO: Mobile virtual network operator
• PSB: Payment service bank
• Profit from operations: Consists of total of CODM EBITDA before impairment of goodwill less depreciation, amortisation
• Other income and gains Gain on disposal / dilution of investment in JV/Associate
• JCPOA: Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action