State-owned Ethio Telecom reports over 20% jump in revenue, profit

AFRICAN STOCKS AND FINANCEJuly 12, 2024 at 3:24 PM UTC

TLDR

Ethio Telecom exceeds targets with 8.9% increase in subscriber base to 78.3 million customers.
Total revenue sees a significant rise of 21.7%, reaching Birr 93.7 billion ($1.62 billion).
Achieved cost savings of over 4.5 billion Birr ($77.9 million) through revenue diversification and optimization strategy.

Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia’s state-owned telco, has concluded its 2023/24 fiscal year (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024), surpassing its targets in all key metrics.

The company saw an 8.9% increase in its subscriber base, reaching 78.3 million customers, and a 21.7% increase in total revenue, totaling Birr 93.7 billion ($1.62 billion). Foreign exchange generation also increased by 20.7%, reaching $198.02 million.

The telco saved over 4.5 billion Birr ($77.9 million) during the budget year by expanding and diversifying revenue streams and implementing a company-wide cost optimization strategy called DO2SAVE. EBITDA reached 42.44 billion Birr ($734.7 million), and net profit reached 21.79 billion Birr ($377 million), reflecting a 20.9% increase compared to the same period last year.

Key Takeaways

Ethiopia is seen as one of the last bastions of growth for the telecom sector, given its large population of 100 million. The government opened its economy to international businesses in 2018, which allowed Safaricom to enter the market and challenge Ethio Telecom. In February, Ethiopia announced plans to float 10% of shares in Ethio Telecom, but this plan has yet to attract a buyer. Earlier, the government considered putting 45% of shares on the market to stay competitive against incoming rivals like Safaricom. Orange initially expressed interest in the shares but withdrew, as it was seeking a stake of over 50%.

Ethiopia

Ethio Telecom

Telecommunications

Mobile Network Operator

Horn of Africa

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