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Harare, December 1, 2020 (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe’s biggest telecommunications company, Econet Wireless said on Tuesday it recorded a 6.5 percent decline in revenue to $10.1 billion for the half-year ended August 2020, compared to the same period last year as consumers battled declining disposable incomes on the back of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Group chairman, Dr James Myer said the telco had to offer specials to subscribers to boost traffic on its network.
“The business continuously evaluates its pricing models in line with changes in the operating environment to ensure its services remain affordable. Through targeted segment specific offers and bundles, the business has been able to sustain customer volumes on its various platforms,” Dr Myers said.
“In this way, the business has been able to maintain its share of traffic and revenue in an environment where customer disposable incomes have been declining.”
During the period, Econet Wireless saw its subscriber base grow 0.24 percent to 12.59 million while data traffic jumped 10.8 percent and its share of the voice market grew by 2.6 percent.
“During the period under review the contribution from our data services to total revenue increased by three percentage points, from 25 percent to 28 percent,” Dr Myers said.
Despite the drop in revenue, Econet’s earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation and amortisation were up 6.7 percent to $4.8 billion.
The group’s overall loss position improved by 99 percent to $85 million, while shareholders suffered a basic loss per share of 3.9 cents, from 444.1 cents during the same period last year.
No dividend was declared for the period.
Dr Myers said access to limited foreign currency and disruptions in power supply continued to significantly strain the business impacting on quality of services offered.
New Ziana
Online Reporter