By Eyasu Zekarias
Ethiotelecom has proudly announced the successful achievement of 98% of its plan within a six-month period by delivering a diverse range of mobile finance and digital services, resulting in a total income of 42.86 billion birr. The revenue breakdown reveals that voice services accounted for 41.8%, data and internet services for 25.7%, international revenue for 9.3%, value-added services for 8.7%, telecom service equipment sales for 5%, Telebirr for 2.5%, infrastructure rental for 1.1%, and other digital services for 5.9%. The report confirms that the company has a significant presence in the capital.
Through the provision of mobile finance and digital services, Ethiotelecom has accomplished 98% of its plan, generating a total income of 42.86 billion birr during the current fiscal year. Notably, the company’s customer base reached an impressive milestone of 74.6 million within six months, showcasing a growth of 4.7 million or 6.7% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. This achievement represents 98.3% of the set plan. Additionally, Ethiotelecom has successfully earned 84.7 million US dollars from foreign exchange earning services, surpassing its plan by achieving 109% of the target.
The company’s strategic network expansion efforts from July to December 2023 have resulted in the acquisition of 678.2 thousand 3G users, 1.1 million 4G users, and 148.2 thousand 5G users, leading to a significant increase of 1.9 million additional customers. As a result, the total mobile network customer handling capacity has expanded to accommodate a whopping 81 million users.
Frehiwot Tamiru, the CEO of the institution, provided a comprehensive overview of the company’s performance over the past six months. He proudly declared, “In the first half of the year, we surpassed expectations by achieving 113% of our plan, resulting in savings of over 2 billion birr.”
Ethiotelecom has further announced a remarkable accomplishment of achieving 137% of its plan, as evidenced by a net profit of 19.77 billion birr or 46% of the net profit in the first half of the year. This represents a notable growth rate of 14% compared to the same period, ultimately leading to a profitability ratio of 26%.
Frehiwot Tamiru, the Chief Executive Officer of the institution, revealed that during the first half of the year, the company diligently fulfilled financial obligations by paying 18.5 billion birr in taxes, 2.46 billion birr in loans, and 4 billion birr in government dividends.
Ethiotelecom also has exceeded its plan by achieving 104% through the Telebirr service, attracting over 41 million customers and facilitating a transaction volume of 910.7 billion birr. Notably, since the launch of Telebirr, the total transaction amount has reached an impressive 1.7 trillion birr, playing a significant role in driving the economy.
The company has provided various Telebirr financial services to its customers, including Telebirr Sanduk, Telebirr Ende Kise, Telebirr Mela, Telebirr Senq, Telebirr Endrase, and Telebirr Address. As of now, 3.8 million customers have availed credit services worth 8.3 billion birr, while 1.5 million customers have saved 8.4 billion birr.
Within the past six months, a total of 602 governmental and non-governmental institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Trade and Regional Relations, Immigration and Citizenship Services, Ethiopian Airlines, Addis Ababa City Administration Revenue Office, Oromia Region Revenue Office, National Lottery, various universities, and others, have integrated their service payment systems with Telebirr.
Frehiwot Tamiru highlighted some challenges faced by the company during the first half of the year, such as service interruptions due to security issues in different parts of the country, threats to network assets, theft and damage to fiber and copper lines, telecom fraud, material shortages, market instability, and power outages. Despite these obstacles, Ethiotelecom has made significant profits.
Formerly known as the Ethiopian Communication Corporation, Ethiotelecom is the primary provider of internet and telephone services in Ethiopia. It is owned by the Ethiopian government and holds a monopoly on all telecommunication services. As one of the “Big-5” government corporations in Ethiopia, it stands alongside Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Commercial Bank, Ethiopian Insurance Company, and Ethiopian Shipping Line. The institution is based in Addis Ababa.
