MTN to outsource some call centres

MTN plans to outsource some of its call centre facilities in an attempt to optimise its operations and enhance customer experience.

It said yesterday it would retain some call centre facilities while others would be outsourced to a third-party vendor.

MTN said the outsource partners had a “sound financial track record and an impeccable reputation in the call centre industry”.

The move would enable the company to streamline its operations and focus on its core competencies‚ improve its ability to offer its customers a better customer value proposition and reduce operational costs‚ MTN said.

The process was expected to be completed next month.

On Friday‚ MTN SA reported a 2.6% decline in subscriber numbers to 29.8 million for the six months to June‚ mainly as a result of strong competition and economic pressure in a highly penetrated market.

Total revenue increased by 5.1% to R19.8-billion‚ mainly as a result of higher data and device revenue growth.

Earnings before interest‚ tax‚ depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) declined by 5.5 percentage points to 30.1%‚ negatively affected by lower handset margins following aggressive handset sales and increased network-related costs associated with the expansion of 3G and LTE sites‚ MTN said.

“MTN SA reported a lowerthan-expected performance‚ negatively impacted by network outages in some areas‚ competition and economic pressure impacting consumer spending‚” it said.

But some analysts still believe in the MTN success story.

“We’re still holding our shares. We’ve been holding them for over a decade and we’re going to keep holding them‚” Vestact analyst Sasha Naryshkine said.

Sibonginkosi Nyanga‚ an equity research analyst at Momentum SP Reid Stockbrokers‚ does not see the company’s short-term hiccups as a problem in the long term.

“The share is still worth holding,” Nyanga said.

Weak economic conditions‚ increased push to lower data prices, and falling voice revenue mean MTN is operating in an increasingly competitive space.

There is also a lot of pressure for the cellular network group to take steps to fix its infrastructure‚ which has led to the appointment of Babak Fouladi as group executive of technology and information systems.

MTN SA is planning an extensive LGE and 3G rollout in eight cities.