MTN Uganda has declared its first quarterly dividend of 8.5 Ugandan shillings (Sh0.2927) per share amounting to a total of Sh6.5 billion.
The new dividend will be paid on June 19 to shareholders who will be on record as of June 1.
The telco, listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange and having Kenyan shareholders among other nationalities, previously paid three dividends starting from the half year.
MTN reported a 3.8 percent drop in net profit to Sh5.99 billion in the first quarter ended March, with the company attributing the performance on weaker-than-expected sales growth.
‘Profit after tax declined by 3.8 percent to Ush174 billion (Sh5.99 billion) with a profit margin of 19 percent as a result of moderate revenue performance following the impact of the internet and mobile money shutdown earlier in the year,’ MTN said.
The Ugandan government ordered suspension of internet and social media platforms for nearly a week in mid-January as the country held its general election.
MTN’s total revenue grew 7.8 percent to Sh31.5 billion in the quarter under review. Total expenses rose at a faster pace of 11.8 percent to Sh15.5 billion.
‘Following this resilient performance, the board approved a first interim dividend of Ush8.5 per share totaling Ush190.3 billion to be paid to shareholders. This is in line with our commitment to deliver strong and consistent returns to our shareholders,’ MTN’s chief executive Sylvia Mulinge said in a statement.
The telco recently amended its dividend policy, lifting payouts to shareholders to 75 percent of net income.
MTN is still in the process of separating its mobile money business MTN MoMo from the telecommunications division, with the split expected to help accelerate growth of the former.
Mobile money is growing faster compared to voice which could soon drop to second in terms of revenue contribution, partly due to falling call rates and increased competition.
Voice revenue increased by the slowest rate of 2.2 percent, held down by a further reduction in what MTN charges rivals to terminate their calls on its network.
This saw the contribution of voice contribution to service revenue fall by 1.9 percentage points to 36.1 percent.