Zimbabwean senior executive Ralph Mupita earns $2-million compensation from MTN in 2020

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita has earned $2 million (R31 million) in compensation from the leading telecommunications company in 2020.

The Zimbabwean multimillionaire executive, who became president and CEO in September 2020, was paid R31 million ($2 million), including a base salary of R12 million ($782,000) and a bonus of R18 million ($1.2 million).

When compared to his previous year’s earnings, the executive was paid less than half of the R66 billion ($4.3 million) that he received in compensation in 2019 when he served as the group’s CFO.

A review of the group’s 2020 financial results revealed that his slashed compensation was due to share-price performance and a growth in shareholder wealth.

Share-based incentives, which conform with standard accounting practice, help reward executives whose company’s share price sees impressive appreciation throughout the course of a financial year.

MTN Group is Africa’s leading multinational mobile telecom company based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the largest city in Africa.

As of June 2021, MTN Group has 277.3 million subscribers in 21 markets, making it the eighth largest mobile network operator in the world, with a significant footprint on the African continent and in Asia.

The group recorded an 82-percent growth in profit from R10.83 billion ($705.1 million) in 2019 to R19.65 billion ($1.30 billion) at the end of its 2020 financial year.

In the first half of 2021, its service revenue expanded by 19.7 percent, while earnings before interest, taxation and depreciation grew by 24.1 percent.

Since Mupita became CEO last year, the group’s revenue has grown from R151 billion ($9.8 billion) in December 2019 to R179 billion ($11.7 billion) at the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, its assets base expanded from R302 billion ($19.7 billion) in December 2019 to R348 billion ($22.7 billion) as of June 2021.