Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

Millicom May Be Smaller, but It's Growing

Article Image
Millicom may only be active in two markets in Africa these days, Tanzania and Chad, but that approach appears to be paying off.

The operator, which has been shrinking its African business in recent years as it focuses on growth in Latin America, now only generates about 8.4% of its total revenues from those two units in Africa, but its contributions from the continent are growing, with the business in Tanzania performing particularly well. (It also has a joint venture in Ghana but that is now regarded as a discontinued operation and is not included in any reporting – see Bharti Airtel, Millicom Combine Operations in Ghana.)

In its recent second quarter earnings report, Millicom, which offers services under the Tigo brand, stated that it added 551,000 consumer mobile subscribers in Africa during the three months that ended in June, "with Tanzania reporting its strongest quarter in more than two years, mainly due to our expanded network coverage," the operator noted.

Total revenues increased 2.9% year-on-year, though solid growth in Tanzania was partially offset by a double-digit decline in service revenue in Chad, where the government has been raising its tax levies. Despite that, earnings margins improved slightly in both Tanzania and Chad in the second quarter.

Table 1: Millicom in Africa, Q2 2018

KPI ('000) Q2 2018 Q2 2017 Year-on-Year change
B2C mobile customers 15,429 14,587 5.8%
Mobile Financial Services customers 6,640 6,049 9.8%
B2C mobile ARPU (US$) 2.7 2.7 -0.9%
Financial Q2 2018 Q2 2017 Organic Year-on-Year change*
Total revenues (US$) 129 125 2.9%
EBITDA (US$) 32 31 5.0%
EBITDA margin % 24.90% 24.40% 0.5 percentage point
Capex exc. spectrum and licenses (US$) 7 19 -66%

But with its focus now on Latin America, Millicom isn't looking to invest significantly in Africa. It spent only $7 million on capex during the second quarter, down from $19 million a year earlier, and in Tanzania it decided not to participate in the recent 4G spectrum auction.

— Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading for Connecting Africa.

Innovation hub

Story

Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's Tech Herfrica

Connecting Africa's hot startup is Nigeria's Tech Herfrica, a social impact organization that focuses on the digital and financial inclusion of women and girls in rural areas of Nigeria.

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Innovation hub

Latest video

More videos

Partner perspectives

All Partner Perspectives

Sponsored video

More videos

Industry announcements

More Industry announcements

Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
More Upcoming events

Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

More Africa Tech perspectives

Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

Like us on Facebook

Newsletter Sign Up


Sign Up
Tag id test-002