Ethio Telecom revenue missed by 13.6% due to military conflict

Ethiopia state-owned operator Ethio Telecom missed its H1 revenue target by 13.6 percent, primarily because of the ongoing military conflict in the country.  

As such, the operator racked up a total of $561 billion between July 1 to December 31, which is 86.4 percent oaf its target, but it pointed out this is a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 6.7 percent.    

Ethio Telecom’s revenue rose by 6.7 percent to $562.27 million in the six months to December 31, its financial first half, falling short of the company’s target, CEO Frehiwot Tamiru said.  

Almost 3,500 base transmission stations belonging to the company were damaged during the fighting in the north, rendering them out of service and costing the company 3.67 billion birrs in lost revenue.  

The war that has been occurring for some time also led to the closure of some of the company’s sales outlets in the area. However, Ethio’s 4G internet network, which previously covered only Ethiopia capital Addis Ababa, has grown to cover 136 more urban areas.  

Furthermore, subscribers to Ethio Telecom’s financial service, called “Telebirr,” launched last May and grew to 13 million by the end of December, out of nearly 60 million total mobile phone customers, the company said.  

In addition, mobile voice subscribers reached 58.7 million, data and internet users 23.8 million, fixed services 923,000 and set broadband subscribers reached 443,000, and telecom density reached 58.5 percent.  

The company said in a statement: “Our company’s semi-annual performance for the 2021/22 budget year is remarkable given the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the security issues in some parts of our country.  

“This achievement is only made possible because of the commitment of our company’s leadership and employees to make Ethio telecom a preferred operator on top of running the business, the leadership team’s stamina and concerted effort in managing the operation and projects.”  

Safaricom is ready to become Ethiopia’s second operator and first primary completion for Ethio Telecom. This month, regulators dismissed plans for a third operator as requested by prospective bidders for the third license, citing “concerns.”