Uganda’s richest investor Charles Mbire acquires additional 2.26 million shares in MTN Uganda

Ugandan multimillionaire businessman Charles Mbire has purchased an additional 2,263,930 shares in MTN Uganda, the country’s top telecom services provider, in a deal worth more than Ush448.9 million ($117,713), as he seeks to strengthen his control of the Kampala-based telecom company.

Mbire, the chairman of MTN Uganda and the richest investor on the Uganda Stock Exchange, holds a significant stake in the telecom company, which operates as the fourth subsidiary of MTN Group, the South African mobile telecom behemoth.

With the purchase of the additional shares on Mon., Aug. 22, his equity holding in the Ugandan telecom business climbed from 892,230,775 shares, or 3.98 percent, at the start of the year to 894,494,705 shares, or 3.99 percent, at the time of writing this report.

MTN Uganda shares were worth Ush198.28 ($0.0518) per share as of Aug. 24. This is four basis points lower than their opening price on the Uganda Stock Exchange this morning.

Mbire’s approximately four-percent ownership in the Kampala-based telecom firm is worth at Ush177.36 million ($46.51 million) at the present market price.

The valuation solidifies his status as the Uganda Stock Exchange’s wealthiest investor.

The telecom mogul’s recent share purchase came roughly two weeks after the company reported a 48.1-percent increase in profit in the first half of 2022 from Ush130.7 billion ($33.7 million) to Ush193.6 billion ($50.2 million).

Aside from the management’s cost-cutting efforts, which boosted the group’s earnings in the first half of 2022, the rise in profit may be attributed to a 10-percent increase in service revenue for the period under review, from Ush994.3 billion ($256 million) to Ush1.09 trillion ($282.4 million).

MTN Uganda’s outgoing CEO, Wim Vanhelleputte, commented on the results, adding that the group maintained a strong financial performance despite difficulties in its macroeconomic climate typified by heightened inflationary and currency pressures.

The board of directors has approved the payment of an interim dividend of Ush5 ($0.00128) per share for the six months ended June 30, totaling Ush11.95 billion ($28.9 million), subject to withholding taxes, as a result of the company’s strong financial performance.

Mbire is anticipated to receive $1.16 million from the telecom group’s interim dividend payout.