Ethio Telecom reports revenue of $491.57m over six months
The state operator's half-year figure lands as Ethiopia continues a gradual liberalisation of a telecommunications sector it monopolised for decades.
Ethio Telecom generated 491.57 million dollars in revenue over a six-month period, according to figures reported by Techpoint Africa.
The number carries weight beyond the company's own accounts because of what Ethio Telecom represents. For most of its history it held an absolute monopoly over telecommunications in a country of well over a hundred million people, one of the last markets of that size anywhere to remain closed to competition.
That position has been changing. Ethiopia has pursued a gradual opening of the sector as part of a broader economic liberalisation, admitting a competing operator and moving to sell a minority stake in the incumbent itself. A half-year revenue figure is therefore read as an indicator of how the incumbent is performing while its protected position erodes.
The underlying market is unusual. Mobile penetration in Ethiopia has historically lagged the regional average, which means growth has been available from new subscribers rather than only from selling more services to existing ones. That is a materially easier growth environment than most African operators face, where markets approach saturation and revenue growth depends on data and financial services.
Ethio Telecom generated 491.57 million dollars in revenue over a six-month period, according to figures reported by Techpoint Africa.
Mobile money is the other component. Ethio Telecom's payments platform launched into a country where formal banking reach is limited and where, unusually, mobile money arrived long after it had reshaped markets such as Kenya. The company entered that space with the distribution advantage of an incumbent, which is a large part of why its revenue base has held up.
The figure should be read against Ethiopia's currency position rather than in isolation. Dollar-denominated reporting of birr revenue is sensitive to the exchange rate, and Ethiopia has moved substantially on currency policy in recent years, so year-on-year comparisons in dollar terms can reflect the rate as much as the underlying business.
What the number establishes is that the incumbent enters a competitive phase from a position of scale. Whether it holds that position depends on how quickly rivals can build coverage in a country whose geography makes network rollout expensive.
Based on reporting by Techpoint Africa.
