MTN Uganda full-year income cut by license, supplier payments




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MTN Uganda Ltd., the East African nation’s biggest wireless carrier, said full-year profit was lowered by 62.3 billion shillings ($17.3 million) in once-off payments for a short-term license and costs for terminating the services of a supplier.

The unit of MTN Group Ltd. posted net income of 340.4 billion shillings for the year through December, partly driven by the expansion of its subscriber base by almost 11% to 15.7 million users.

The two payments comprised $14.1 million to the Uganda Communications Commission for a temporary permit while it negotiated a new one following the expiry of an initial 20-year license in October 2018, and a further $3 million paid to Invesco Uganda Ltd. after ending a support-services agreement, the company said.

MTN Uganda’s license was renewed for 12 years in July 2020 for $100 million and after it agreed to list at least 20% of its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange.