Following strong Q1s last week we have pushed our target to $30, from $24. Underlying upgrades are 5-6% at EBITDA and we have trimmed capex further. Partly mitigating factors are 1/ We have cut our expectation for a dividend from Honduras, and 2/ Built in a 50% likelihood of a devaluation in Bolivia, though this doesn’t appear very imminent (we include in our valuation, not in estimates)
Topline trend was better as B2B division improved while KT Cloud and KT Estate sustained double-digits growth again. While the company had earlier announced plans to expand its AI/ICT staff pool by up to 1k this year, so far labour costs remained under control as it is being offset by natural attrition of retirees.
Airtel Africa has published a decent set of Q4 results. Top line performance remained strong, service revenue growth in local currency came in above consensus expectations and above our expectations. EBITDA trends slowed (but remained decent given the macro context in Q1) and margins came in 1pp below consensus and us.
Softbank delivered a strong beat on EBITDA and net profit this quarter, with mobile accelerating as the benefits of financial integration into mobile plans continued to flow through. Guidance was mixed however, impacted by the ¥150bn investments going into generative AI. As a result, compared to a scenario without these investments, the guided EBIT was lower by ¥30bn/year for FY24 and FY25, but in line with previous figures.
MTN Rwanda has reported a slower set of Q1 numbers. Revenue and EBITDA continue to be impacted by the MTR cut and margins were also impacted by the One Network Area initiative and to a lesser extent by the depreciating RWF vs. the USD.
LY delivered yet another strong EBITDA beat, ahead of consensus by 16%. Against consensus expectations, FY24 guidance was in line for revenue while ahead on EBITDA. Encouragingly, the company has also laid out a bullish EPS target of more than ¥20 for FY25 (vs. ¥18.7 previously) which reflects the company’s focus on efficiency and profitability, and would be positive if the company can achieve it.
MTN Ghana has reported a good set of Q1 results. Service revenue growth accelerated and continued to grow well above inflation. EBITDA trends slowed but remain solid. Capex intensity was down vs. Q1 last year. Medium guidance for Service Revenue growth (“high twenties %”) has been reiterated. The macro is expected to remain challenging in 2024. However, there has been an encouraging slow down in inflation over Q1.
H2 was a better semester for the SA Telcos. Service revenue and EBITDA trends improved and capex – while still above historic levels – was contained. However, improvements were modest as the environment remains difficult and growth remains limited.
Orange has reported a solid set of results, with EBITDA c+0.4% ahead of consensus. Guidance has all been reiterated, and cost synergy numbers for Spain have been lifted (with new additional revenue synergy numbers given, that are based on intra-company churn switching data, which makes it plausible some could be delivered in our view).
We deep dive on African Telco’s Fintech valuations in this note which is a follow up of our higher-level note Show me the (Mobile) Money. African Telcos are becoming more active about unlocking value from Mobile Money (MoMo) with MTN’s recent deal with Mastercard and now rumours that AAF is looking to IPO its MoMo business. Global Fintech/Payments multiples have derated over the past couple of years, but we continue to see great value in the African Telco’s MoMo assets which remain one the key n...
MTN Rwanda has reported a solid set of Q4 numbers on an underlying basis (NSRe). Reported service revenue growth decelerated vs. Q3 impacted by the MTR cuts but EBITDA growth accelerated. Mid-term guidance for service revenue growth has been reiterated (“mid-teens service growth”) and the company targets a stable EBITDA margin.
We ran our Asia Telco tour last week. This time we met 12 companies in 3 countries (Korea, Japan, Thailand). Telco share prices in all 3 of these countries have been pretty strong recently as telcos continue to benefit from generally positive themes: growth, return on capital and shareholder remuneration are all typically improving.
We met with all 3 of the Korean Telcos in Seoul over the last couple of days. All 3 are committed to engaging with and following the government “Value-up” programme, with the industry having started to become more shareholder friendly 2-3 years ago. We see the potential for higher industry returns (lower capex, opex) as well as better shareholder remuneration. Change will take time, but patient investors are set to do well from Korea as the market finally finds its place in the sun we think. Top...
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