MTN released its FY'23 results on the 25th of March and it was a mixed bag of results.
Salient features: Group service revenue grew by 6.9% (13.5%*) to R210.1bn (2022: R196.5bn) EBITDA (before once-off items) down by 0.5% (9.8%*) to R90.5bn (2022: R90.8bn) EBITDA margin lower by 3.0 percentage points (pp) to 40.9% (1.2 pp* lower to 41.5% *) Basic earnings per share (EPS) decreased by 78.5% to 227cps (2022: restated 1 054cps) Reported headline earnings per share (HEPS) down by 72.3% to 315cps (2022: restated 1 137cps); non-operational impacts decreased HEPS by 888cps Holding company (Holdco) leverage improved to 1.4x (December 2021: 0.8x) Adjusted return on equity (ROE) increased by 0.2pp to 24.4% (restated 2022: restated 24.2% ) Total subscribers increased by 2.0% to 294.8 million Final dividend declared of 330cps (2022: 330cps)
These results did not deter investors much as the stock shrugged of the results and the stock trended higher in the following sessions.
Technically, the reversal signals I was looking for have materialized. *The MACD gave a buy signal and has broken above the zero-line. *The five wave decline from 14299 looks complete at 7753.
No matter how good the wave count looks, one can never be certain that a bottom is in but I am bullish and this outlook will only be invalidated by a break below 7753