Q1 was a solid quarter for the Sub-Saharan African operators, especially from a top line perspective. Airtel Africa continued to outperform peers overall. We continue to think that fundamentals for AAF and MTN are strong and deserve more attention. Valuations are compelling too.
Q3 was a decent quarter for Sub-Saharan African (SSA) operators. Fundamentals remain strong. We have updated forecasts post Q3 results, and our recommendations and target prices remain unchanged, except for Safaricom. AAF remains our preferred play in Africa.
Safaricom reported a solid set of 1HFY24 results today. Service revenue growth accelerated driven by a solid performance from M-PESA and mobile data. EBITDA growth slowed but remained robust. The Group has lifted its EBIT guidance for Kenya this year (+KHsh 12bn), it also lifted capex expectations given the KES depreciation but by a smaller degree (+KHsh 3bn). FY24 guidance for Ethiopia is unchanged, so was mid-term guidance for capex and EBITDA.
Sub-Saharan African (SSA) operators continue to benefit from strong fundamentals with accelerated growth. Vodacom improved the most following the reduction in mobile money levies in Tanzania and a better DRC performance. Specific to the SSA region, we see MTN and AAF as our favoured play, while exposure to Africa is a key part of our Orange Buy thesis.
Safaricom reported its 1HFY23 results today. Service revenue growth slowed on slower M-PESA revenue during the Election Year. EBITDA declined YoY on higher M-PESA commissions and handset costs. On balance, the Group’s FY23 EBIT guidance remains intact, with the KShs 8bn downgrade in Kenyan EBIT target being offset by the KShs 8bn upgrade in its Ethiopian unit. Capex guidance remained at KShs 100-108bn. We highlight below the key takeaways from the results and the outlook.
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) operators saw a decent Q2 as subscriber growth remained strong. However, ARPU growth eased, in part due to the e-levies and reduced P2P fees on fintech services. Airtel Africa (AAF) was the outperformer again while MTN’s EBITDA margin was more resilient.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) plans to cut the mobile termination rate (MTR) from KES0.99 to KES0.12 per minute. The MTR is the service charge a mobile network operator (MNO) pays to another MNO for terminating calls on the latter's network. For instance, for every call an Airtel Kenya user makes to a Safaricom user, Airtel Kenya must pay Safaricom KES0.99 per minute (or KES0.12 per minute under the proposed change). The new rate was supposed to become effective on 1 January, but...
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