MTN Uganda Ltd., the East African country's largest wireless carrier, said its full-year earnings was reduced by 62.3 billion shillings ($17.3 million) in one-time payments for a short-term license and costs associated with terminating a supplier's services.
MTN Group Ltd.'s segment reported net income of 340.4 billion shillings for the fiscal year ended December 31, helped in part by an increase in subscriber base of about 11 percent to 15.7 million customers.
The two payments were $14.1 million to the Uganda Communications Commission for a temporary permission while it negotiated a new one after an initial 20-year license expired in October 2018, and $3 million to Invesco Uganda Ltd. after the business ended a support-services arrangement.
MTN Uganda's license was renewed for a period of 12 years in July 2020 for a fee of $100 million, in exchange for the company agreeing to float at least 20% of its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange.
