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BusinessFood ProductionSouthern Africa

Mr. Price generates R570 million in revenue

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Mr. Price has released its interim results and reports that its telecoms segment generated R570 million in revenue during the 26 weeks from 2 April to 1 October 2022.

The company said that this is a 9.2% increase in revenue.

It also noted that its telecoms segment now contributes 3.9% to all retail sales.

Mr Price said cellular merchandise and data is now available in 683 stores across the group.

“Cellular handsets and accessories gained 130 [basis points] of market share according to Growth for Knowledge, with the segment exceeding the 5% market share threshold for the first time,” the company said.

It also reported that standalone Mr Price Cellular stores exceeded expectations, with further rollouts planned.

“It’s been a tough period for trading, but against all the uncertainty, we’ve gained traction on our strategy implementation,” said Mr. Price CEO Mark Blair.

“Our acquisitions have been value accretive, we launched the Mr Price Baby concept, [and] proved the business case for a rollout of Mr Price Cellular stores.”

In addition to selling cellular handsets, Mr Price also has a mobile virtual network operator that runs on Cell C’s platform.

Mr Price Mobile’s data bundles are summarised in the table below.

It offers voice calls for R0.99 per minute, and out-of-bundle data for R0.50 per megabyte.

Source: My Broadband

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AirtelBusinessNigeriaTelecommunicationsWestern Africa

Nigeria’s telecoms regulator shuns ‘unilateral’ tarriff hike, directs telcos to make a reversal

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

Nigeria’s telecoms regulator has asked phone operators to suspend voice and data tariff hikes they introduced a month ago.

The Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, said the operators had carried out “unilateral implementation of the recently approved 10% upward tariff adjustments” for some services on their networks. A 12 October 2022 letter directed the companies to reverse the upward tariff adjustment, it said.

“The consideration for 10% approval for tariff adjustments for different voice and data packages was in line with the mandates of the Commission as provided by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and other extant Regulations and Guidelines, as this was within the provisions of existing price floor and price cap as determined for the industry. The decision was also taken after a critical and realistic review and analysis of the operational environment and the current business climate in Nigeria, as it affects all sectors of the economy,” the commission said in a statement on Wednesday signed by Reuben Muoka, its director for public affairs.

Telecommunications companies in Nigeria raised the rates of data services in September, months after suspending an increase following public complaints. Many users only became aware of the latest raise in October as there were no formal announcements by the companies, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

The prices rose 10 per cent, with an MTN subscription of 2.5 gigabytes moving from N500 to N550, while Airtel 40GB subscription increased from N5000 to N5500.

Users criticised the networks for implementing new rates without notifying them. An Airtel subscriber, John Nonso, told PREMIUM TIMES that his subscription of 40GB of N5000 had increased to N5500 and he received no notification.

TOO EXPENSIVE?

Nigeria has some of the most expensive internet rates in the world, an analysis by Surfshark Press, a U.S-based solution  provider, showed in August 2020.

Persisting high inflation in Nigeria has seen businesses push up their prices lately. Inflation reached 20.8 per cent in September, more than 20.52 per cent recorded in the previous month.

In May, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) suggested a 40 per cent increase in call and SMS rates to the NCC. The operators said the cost for calls will increase from N6.4 to N8.95 while the price cap for SMS will increase from N4 to N5.61. The regulator NCC blocked the move.

Source: Premium Times

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AfricaAFRICA NEWSBanking, Finance & InvestmentBusinessNewsNigeriaTelecommunicationsWestern Africa

Telecoms operators say banks’ USSD debt has increased to N80b from N42 the previous year

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria says banks’ Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt has increased to N80 billion from N42 billion reported in 2021.

The President of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, said this development during the ICT Growth Conference 2.0, organised by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association on Thursday in Lagos.

The conference had the theme: “Creating a Digital Ecosystem in Nigeria: the Hurdles, the Gains.”

Adebayo said that the debt owed members of the association was for services rendered to banks.

He noted that in spite of government’s intervention in the matter, many banks were not cooperating as regards paying their debt.

He said: “Some banks are responding while others are not.

“We are nearing that time when we have no choice but to discontinue the provision of services to banks.

“I think it is dishonourable that our colleagues in that sector know that they have an obligation to service providers and are shying away from it.

“Banks deduct charges from their customers, but refuse to pay telecom operators.

“You don’t expect us to keep rendering services when you don’t pay.”

The ALTON president added that the irony of the situation was that if it was the other way round, “you could not owe the bank a cent”.

ALSO READ: CBN begins deductions from states, and farmers’ accounts to recover loans from its intervention programmes

The News Agency of Nigeria eports that the telecommunication operators had threatened to withdraw their USSD services to financial institutions from March 15, 2021 due to the N42 billion accumulated debt.

However, following intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian Communications Commission, the planned action was shelved.

Both parties (the telcos and the banks) went into a meeting with the Federal Government representatives.

As a fallout of the meeting, the CBN and NCC announced the introduction of N6.98 per transaction as new charges for customers using the USSD services with effect from March 16, 2021.

Source: The Eagle online

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BusinessSouthern Africa

Cell C lenders agree on crucial offer, moves closer to recapitalization.

by Radarr Africa
written by Radarr Africa

On Tuesday, it was announced that Cell C lenders have voted in favor of a compromise cash out offer of 20c for every R1 of debt, bringing the company’s recapitalization closer to fruition.

Cell C’s described the latest development as a “critical milestone in the financial restructuring and recapitalization” of its business. 

The company’s major shareholder, Blue Label Telecoms, now expects the recapitalisation process to be finalised by late July. 

Cell C and its shareholders have over the past two years been working on the cash injection plan for the operator which was hit by liquidity challenges that saw Blue Label, which owns a 45% stake in the firm, write down the carrying value of its Cell C investment to zero. 

The company is saddled with a debt of around R7.3 billion.

“This is a significant step in the overall process to deleverage Cell C’s balance sheet,” Cell C Douglas Craigie Stevenson about the development.

“It shows confidence in our new business strategy and with the overall debt reduced and simplified – we are set to compete as a sustainable entity going forward.” 

Blue Label had earlier announced that some of Cell C’s lenders would convert their loans into shares in Cell C, as part of the recapitalization plan. Blue Label will also buy Cell C’s pre-paid airtime for an amount of R1.2 billion, to help inject capital into the cellphone service provider.

Cell C said the final steps to concluding the overall transaction involve the signing of condition precedents and long form agreements, adding “this is expected to be concluded in a matter of weeks.”

Blue Label said the final stages of the overall Cell C recapitalisation transaction are being implemented, and the process is expected to reach a final close in late July 2022.

In January 2020, Blue Label Telecoms announced that the network provider had defaulted on interest and capital repayments related to the respective bilateral loan facilities between Cell C and Nedbank, China Development Bank Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which were due in January 2020.

Source: News 24.

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