JOHANNESBURG :South African mobile operator MTN Group said on Thursday its first-half earnings surged 46.5 per cent and it had received a $35 million binding offer for its Afghanistan business, nearing an exit of the Middle East.
He added the completion of the deal would conclude MTN's exit from Middle Eastern markets, after selling MTN Yemen and abandoning MTN Syria last year. Its 49 per cent financial investment in Irancell will continue to be managed within the MTN portfolio. MTN, which operates in 19 markets, reported headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, of 567 cents in the six-months ended June 30, up from 387 cents a year earlier.
Data revenue grew 35.9 per cent, supported by the 14.2 per cent year-on-year growth in active data subscribers and 25.5 per cent increase in data usage. Voice revenue, its biggest service revenue generator, inched up 1.9 per cent, as financially constrained consumers in South Africa substituted voice calls with data calls.