Malawi's TNM sees profit boost on back of data growth

Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) saw a 25% uptick in net profit in 2021, as data customers spent more.

Paula Gilbert, Editor

May 5, 2022

2 Min Read
Malawi's TNM sees profit boost on back of data growth
(Source: Man phone photo created by DCStudio - www.freepik.com.)

Malawi's biggest telecoms operator, Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM), saw a 25% uptick in net profit in 2021 as data customers spent more.

TNM's financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021, show that net profit after tax grew to 9.69 billion Malawian kwacha (US$12 million).

Data revenue grew by 21% to MK32.54 billion ($40.2 million) while mobile money revenue grew by 23% to MK11.48 billion ($14.2 million). This resulted in total revenue growth of 9% to MK99.13 billion ($122.4 million).

The Malawi Stock Exchange-listed operator's subscriber base also grew 14% during the year, but the company did not give an exact figure of how many users it has.

According to statistics from market researcher Omdia, a sister company of Connecting Africa, TNM had about 5.8 million users at the end of 2021 – controlling about 56% market share in the country. Omdia's stats show that Airtel Malawi had over 43% market share and the smallest operator, Access Communications, serviced less than 1% of mobile customers.

Market pressure

The TNM board said in the results statement that it expects the macroeconomic environment to remain challenging in 2022, putting pressure on revenue and margins.

"The volatile exchange rates and foreign currency scarcity will continue to increase the cost of our operations," it said. But it added that TNM had embarked on a recovery plan "that will grow the revenues for future profitability."

"Management will continue to pursue cost containment initiatives in order to protect margins and improve performance," it said.

TNM's 4G network operates across all cities and major towns in Malawi and its 2G and 3G networks cover over 88% of the southeastern African country.

Omdia stats show that about 47% of TNM customers are using 3G while about 26% are using 4G and another 26% are still on 2G.

According to DataReportal, there were only 4.03 million Internet users in Malawi in January 2022, giving the country an Internet penetration rate of just 20.2%.

*Top image source: Man phone photo created by DCStudio - www.freepik.com.

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa

About the Author

Paula Gilbert

Editor, Connecting Africa

Paula has been the Editor of Connecting Africa since June 2019 and has been reporting on key developments in Africa's telecoms and ICT sectors for most of her journalistic career.

The award-winning South Africa-based journalist previously worked as a producer and reporter for business television channels Bloomberg TV Africa and CNBC Africa, was the telecoms editor at online publication ITWeb, and started her career in radio news. She has an Honors degree in Journalism from Rhodes University.

Paula was recognized by Empower Africa as one of 35 trailblazers who shaped Africa's tech landscape in 2023 and won the Excellence in ICT Journalism category at the MTN Women in ICT Awards in 2017.

Travel is always on Paula's mind, she has visited 40 countries so far and is currently researching her next adventure.

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