MTN Uganda has shrugged off the operational challenges of the first quarter, when profits were hit by an internet shutdown during the national general elections in January, growing profit by more than a third for the first half of the financial year.The group on Friday reported an almost 10% rise in revenue for the six months ended June, the largest contributor to which was service revenue, which grew 9.4% to 1.86-trillion Uganda shillings (R8.15bn).Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation increased by 4.7% to 967.5bn Uganda shillings (R4.24bn), while profit after tax was up 37.7% to 367.5bn Uganda shillings (R1.61bn).The group said growth in service revenue reflected a steady recovery across its connectivity and fintech businesses. The group’s mobile subscriber base grew 11.2% to 25.4-million, supported by sustained demand for its products and services. Data revenue increased by 15.6%, with active data subscribers rising by 16.3% to 12.6-million, supported by MTN’s attractive smartphone proposition, resulting in a smartphone penetration of 42.2% compared with 40.1% a year ago.We maintain our medium-term guidance of delivering upper-teen service revenue growth, stable ebitda margins above 50%, and capex intensity (excluding leases) in the mid-teens— Sylvia Mulinge, MTN Uganda CEO The group’s fibre footprint expanded by 90.1% to more than 35,000km, with a primary focus on homes and business enterprises. Voice revenue increased by 1.8% despite the impact of the new mobile termination rate introduced earlier in the year. Fintech revenue increased by 10.7%, supported by growth in the active customer base.“While the business experienced temporary operational disruptions within the agent network after countrywide regulatory reforms, our performance improved during the second quarter, underpinned by the resilience of our digital ecosystem,” the group said.These efforts translated into 11.5% growth in active users, contributing to a 9.5% increase in transaction volumes to 2.6-billion and a 26.8% increase in transaction value to 113.3-trillion Uganda shillings (R496.35bn).CEO Sylvia Mulinge said Uganda’s macroeconomic backdrop was supportive of its operations, notwithstanding external uncertainties related to the conflict in the Middle East. She said a combination of stable inflation, a resilient currency and prudent macroeconomic policies provided a favourable operating environment.As part of its network ambitions, MTN Uganda deployed 317.7-billion Uganda shillings (R1.39bn) in capex (excluding leases) across its core network. This was largely focused on network capacity expansion and fibre densification to support its data growth aspirations. It deployed 224 network sites across the country in line with its geographical coverage obligations, expanding population coverage for 4G to 93.3% and 5G coverage to 25.6%.On the regulatory front, the Uganda Communications Commission is conducting a nationwide enforcement against illegal public Wi-Fi services, which is expected to support a more level competitive environment for licensed operators over time, she said.“We maintain our medium-term guidance of delivering upper-teen service revenue growth, stable ebitda margins above 50%, and capex intensity (excluding leases) in the mid-teens as we invest prudently to meet licence obligations and reinforce our competitive positioning,” Mulinge said. Business Day