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Ugandan multimillionaire businessman Charles Mbire has recorded a UGX17.91-billion ($4.75 million) boost in his net worth in the past 129 days, as shares in MTN Uganda surged by double digits in response to a stellar first-quarter financial performance.
Mbire, the chairman of MTN Uganda, who was instrumental in the company’s growth and transformation, owns 3.98 percent of the company, or 895,561,770 shares.
Shares in MTN Uganda, the fourth operating subsidiary of the South African multinational mobile telecom company, MTN Group, have risen from UGX160 ($0.0425) on Feb. 15 to UGX180 ($0.048) at the time of writing, representing a 12.5-percent gain for shareholders.
At the time of writing, the leading telecom company’s shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) were worth $180 ($0.048) per share, giving the telecom service provider a market capitalization of UGX4.03 trillion ($1.06 billion).
In the last 129 days, the market value of Mbire’s 3.98-percent stake has increased by UGX17.91 billion ($4.75 million), rising from UGX143.29 billion ($38.04 million) to UGX161.2 billion ($42.8 million) at the time of writing this report.
The rise in MTN Uganda’s share price was largely driven by investors’ reactions to the company’s recently released first-quarter results.
The company’s profit increased by 20.1 percent in the first quarter of 2022, from Ush83.7 billion ($23.7 million) in the same period of 2021 to Ush100.5 billion ($28.5 million).
The increase in earnings was driven by an 11-percent increase in service revenue and a 45-percent increase in data revenue as a result of internet and smartphone adoption.
The group’s earnings were also boosted by the strong execution of its cost-cutting program, which enabled 11.8-percent growth in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and a 40 basis point increase in EBITDA margin to 51.6 percent.
