Mr. Michael Ikpoki, the Chief
Executive Officer of MTN Ghana Limited, said it has initiated key
infrastructure investment to support voice quality, capacity and data growth of
the company.
He said
the infrastructure provided was lower in the first half of last year, due to
operational supplier difficulty.
Mr Ikpoki, however, said measures had been put
in place to address this issue, and capital investments of 68.8 per cent of the
year’s total capital would be completed in the second quarter of the same year.
He
announced these at a press briefing on the 2011 Annual Report of the MTN Group
in Accra.
Mr Ikpoki
said this year, like every year, the company would focus on all its energies on
improving customers experience by investing in network improvement, hiring
experienced staff, providing quality service, improving distribution networks
and brining on board more value-added services, among other things.
“The MTN
Group will continue to provide competitive voice offerings aimed at maintaining
market share as lower traffic and mobile termination Rates, mainly in South
Africa and Nigeria impacted revenue growth,” he added.
Meanwhile the operational cost elements of the company comprised direct network
and operating cost, US$2.48 billion; handsets and accessories, US$1.077
billion; interconnect and roaming costs, US$1.77 billion; selling, distribution
and marketing costs, US$1.954 billion, employees benefits, US$891.4 million and
other expenses which stood at US$883.74 million.
Mr
Ikpoki said MTN Ghana has delivered a solid performance as subscribers
increased by 16.5 per cent to 10.2 million subscribers owing to attractive
promotions.
He noted
that the market share declined marginally to 52 per cent from 53 per cent, but
it could be considered highly satisfactory given the very competitive nature of
the market.
Mr
Ikpoki said MTN Ghana recorded total cedi revenue increased of 15.1 per cent
for the year due to a 13.9 per cent increase in airtime; subscription revenue
and a 35.1 per cent increase in interconnect revenue.
He said the company
would continue its efforts to strengthen its position on the non-voice service
and maintain and improve customer experience. 
