MTN Ghana on Wednesday presented a cheque of GH¢9.937 million to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) as dividend accrued from the company’s operations in 2018.

Mr Modupe Kadri, the Chief Financial Officer, MTN Ghana, presenting the cheque, said the company after reviewing the full year performance in 2018, the Board at the Annual General Meeting on May 14, 2019, approved a dividend of 3 pesewas on ordinary shares.

He said the figure brought the total dividend for 2018 to 5 pesewas per share or 81.2 per cent of profit after tax.

The company recorded a strong financial performance in 2018 with profit before tax increasing by 16.5 per cent to GH¢1.6 billion, while earnings per share was GH¢0.067.

The performance, he said, was a testament to the disciplined execution of the company’s strategy of maintaining a strong balance sheet, improving profitability and driving operational efficiencies.

He said the Mobile Money (MoMo) performed well during the year 2018, contributing 17.7 per cent of the group revenue, adding that, the overall revenue was up 60.2 per cent.

Mr Kadri explained that the growth in performance was mainly driven by cash-out fees, commission and transfer services, representing 87.8 per cent of total MoMo revenue.

Mr Sam Korankye, Corporate Service Executive, MTN Ghana, said the company was interested in acquiring the remaining two blocks of the 800MHz spectrum after the National Communications Authority opened a tender.

He said the spectrum would improve the operations of the company in terms of network expansion and quality of service because the menace of lingering fibre cut and instability of national power grid to power their cell sites had impacted on their operations.

Mr Michael Addo, the Deputy Director General in charge of Finance and Administration, SSNIT commended MTN Ghana for the achievement and expected more of the dividend in the years ahead.

He said SSNIT would continue to adhere to its mandate of collecting contributions from workers and pay out their benefits through sustained and prudent investment.