Econet posts mega profits, grows subscribers base to 5.5 million

Econet has just released its financial results for the full year to February 2011. It’s another mega profits year for Zimbabwe’s largest telecoms firm; profits after tax for the period stand at US$140.9 million this year, up 24% from last year’s results.

A couple of announcements accompanied this year’s results. We post the full press release received from Econet below, but here’s a summary of the main announcement:

• Econet poured US$270 million in network infrastructure in the period.
• Econet now has 5.5 million subscribers. It’s not clear if this before the POTRAZ SIM registration disconnections or after. We suspect the former.
• As Zimbabwe approaches 100% mobile penetration, Econet will focus on network optimization, data services and Value Added Services (VAS) in the new period.
• Econet declared a dividend of 12.21 US cents per share in the 2010.
• Revenue for the period is to US$493.5 million, up from US$362.8 million in the previous period.

Here’s the full press release:

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe invested US$270 million in network infrastructure over the past year, bringing total investment over the previous two years to over US$430 million, the country’s largest telecoms service provider reported on Wednesday.

In a statement accompanying its financial results for the full year to February 2011, Econet said the massive investment in network infrastructure helped grow subscriber numbers 55% to 5.5 million customers by February.

Econet’s capital investment contributed the bulk of the growth in Zimbabwe’s mobile penetration rate, which rose from 40% last year to 66% in February this year.

The major network upgrade programme that has been a key focus at the company over the past two years would be completed in 2011. This will allow Econet to continue focusing on improvement and creativity in the areas of service quality and value added services.

“The universal access to voice telephony services has largely been achieved. Econet is now focused on providing subscribers with access to pervasive data and value added services in line with international trends,” Econet CEO Douglas Mboweni said. “The business will now focus on optimising the current capital investments to enhance network quality and boost its data capacity and value added services.”

As a result of the network expansion, Econet boasts the widest coverage in the country.

Of the SIM cards recently deactivated due to regulatory requirements, over half have already been reactivated.

Econet declared a dividend of 12.21 US cents per share. Earnings per share rose 27% from 66 US cents last year to 84 US cents.

Revenue grew 36% to US$493.5 million from US$362.8 million, while post tax profit rose to US$140.9 million from US$113.2 million last year. Total assets increased by US$243.9 million, or 62%, to US$636.6 million.