Ethio Telecom Reports Revenue Climb to 61 Billion Birr Amid Extended IPO

Ethio Telecom reported revenues of 61.9 billion birr in the first half of the year which is a surge of 43.3% year on year as its customer base rose to 80.5 million. Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethiotel outlined the Company’s half-year performance at the Skylight Hotel late Wednesday as it winds down a three-year growth strategy set to conclude in June 2025. While refraining from disclosing exact expenditure, the CEO revealed that nearly 235 million dollars in investments had been mobilized and invested so far. Frehiwot also disclosed that around 23.7 billion birr had been paid in taxes which was 4 billion short of what the Operator paid the whole of last year. An EBITDA of around 34 billion birr was also reported by the CEO as she suggested a high level of efficiency. Ethiotel had plans to mobilize around 1.29 billion dollars during the start of the year to cover expansion and rehabilitation efforts.

“We have a significant appetite for foreign currency,” Frehiwot noted. “Continuous replacement of aged infrastructure is critical.”

Back in October, a 10% stake in the telecom operator was made offered to the public by Ethiopian Investment Holding (EIH), the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The share run initially slated to end by January was pushed back to mid-February due to undisclosed reasons. The CEO noted that the relevant stakeholder would provide a comprehensive account of the share sale in due time.

Another notable development over the past six months has been fee revisions on around half of its 304 product and service offerings. Frehiwot pointed to ongoing macroeconomic reforms which included a shift towards a market-based exchange regime as the main cause. Prudent budget management, project prioritization and negotiations with suppliers and vendors has also been necessitated due to the reforms which led to the depreciation of the local currency by over 100%.

"The revisions have not impacted pay as you go charges," Frehiwot said.

Telebirr, ethiotelecom’s mobile money exhibited significant growth as it conducted transactions amounting to 1.01 trillion birr in six months which is near to the total volume in the past three years. The Service has cultivated a massive customer base of around 54 million with P2P transfers accounting for more than half of its transfers. Around 23.1% of transfers were from banks to telebirr while nearly 17.1% were directed the other way around. Frehiwot referred to 34.15% of the amount being transfers ‘in circulation’ to highlight the increasing adoption of mobile money services. The recently started remittance service also contributed nearly 5 million dollars to the Operators revenue.