By: Ramy Sameeh

Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Sudatel is planning to raise its capital through a rights issue to shareholders by the end of 2015 or early 2016 at the latest, said Tarig Hamza, CEO of Sudan Telecom Group (STG).

“We have completed five issuances for capital hikes over the past few years,” the CEO said told Mubasher in an interview on the sidelines of the UAE-Sudan Investment Forum held in Abu Dhabi, adding that STG’s current authorised capital amounts to $2.5 billion, while issued capital amounts to $1.2 billion.

“We are working on closing that gap through the new issuance,” he added.

Hamza also revealed that the proceeds from the capital increase, which will be implemented in the Abu Dhabi and Khartoum bourses, will be allocated to financing the company’s expansion plans in Africa and Sudan.

The CEO declined to name the markets the company is eyeing in the African continent but said “we are closely examining all available opportunities in these markets.”

STG also plans to invest $267 million in its expansions over the next five years with the aim of increasing its subscriber base, currently reaching 12 million subscribers in Sudan and west African markets, Hamza told Mubasher, adding that his company plans to raise this number by 30% to 15-16 million subscribers by 2020.

STG currently operates in Sudan, Mauritania, Senegal, Ghana, and Guinea.

The firm has exited its investments in Ghana owing to the challenges it faced there in addition to the heated competition between operators, the CEO stated, noting that the operator continues to have limited investments in Ghana, all of which it plans to exit by the end of the year.

“We have already sold 18% of our stake in Ghana and plan to sell the remainder before the end of 2015,” he revealed.

Sudatel is the only operator in Sudan with its entire private infrastructure for broadband and marine cables.

External operations represent nearly 30% of STG’s total revenues, Hamza revealed, adding that the operator plans to increase this percentage to 50% by 2020.

The CEO told Mubasher that he expects a profit growth by 5-10% by the end of 2015.

Sudatel turned profitable in 2014, after achieving $50 million during the year against losses worth $16.8 million and $46 million 2013 and 2012, respectively.

The Sudanese operator reported surging profits in Q1-15 by 53.2% to $9.6 million, compared to $6.2 million in the same period in 2014.

“We are currently working on distributing dividends to shareholders for the first time in three year,” Hamza informed Mubasher, adding that more details in this regard will be announced after the shareholder meeting that will be held later this month.

Sudatel has not made any dividend distributions since 2012, when its shareholders approved $32.45 million as cash dividend in addition to a stock dividend of four bonus shares for 100.

The CEO further revealed that his company is planning to offer stakes in the Egypt and Bahrain stock markets. However, he declined to elaborate in this regard.

Sudatel was previously listed on the Bahrain Bourse, but delisted in May 2002 owing to weak trading. The company listed in the Khartoum Stock Exchange (KSE) in 1997 and in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in March 2003.

Sudatel closed Tuesday at AED 0.77 on the ADX, amid limited trading not exceeding AED 600,000. Established in 1993, the Sudanese company is 30% owned by the Sudanese government, 21% by Sudanese investors and 49% by foreign investors spearheaded by UAE investors.

Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi