MTN Group has announced the extension of its managed services agreement with Ericsson for its operations in Ghana.

This announcement marks the extension of the first managed services contract between Ericsson and MTN, originally signed in 2009 in connection to the rollout of MTN’s 3G network in Ghana. Under the extension, Ericsson is responsible for network operations, field maintenance and optimisation.

With 49 per cent market share, MTN is the leading operator in Ghana, which is one of Africa’s fastest growing telecom markets. In 2011, it grew by around 18 per cent to serve over 10 million subscribers.

Senior executives at Qtel Group last week presented the telco’s three strategic pillars to industry analysts, which incorporated:

· The differentiation of the customer experience

· The strengthening of the telco’s internal foundation

· Investment in new growth

“We have had significant success to date and our aspiration to join the top twenty global operators by the end of the decade remains important for us,” commented Nasser Marafih, Qtel Group CEO. “However, we recognise that the market is changing quickly and that we need to change with it. Our new vision and group strategy builds on our previous strategy and refines it by increasing our focus on differentiated customer experience, on transforming the way we manage our operations and embracing emerging and parallel business opportunities. At the same time, we will continue to set ourselves challenging financial targets.”

Marafih said in future the telco will increase its focus on broadband solutions, business-to-business opportunities, digital developments (TV, finance and health), as well as fibre technologies. At the same time the group will look to drive further operational and cost efficiency, productivity, and scale benefits while growing organisational and people capabilities.

Nokia Siemens Networks has signed forward starting term and multicurrency revolving facilities agreements valued at €1.305 billion (US$1.725 billion) with 15 international banks, to replace the company’s existing revolving credit facility when it matures in June 2012.

The committed facilities are comprised in equal parts of a revolving credit facility maturing in June 2015 and a term loan facility that matures in June 2013. They will be used for general corporate purposes.

The facilities were signed on December 21, 2011.

Motorola recorded a loss of US$80 million in Q411, compared with a prior-year profit of US$80 million, on revenue which was flat at US$3.44 billion. The Mobile Devices business saw an operating loss of US$70 million, compared to a Q410 profit of US$72 million, on revenue of US$2.5 billion, up five per cent. The company stated its Q4 performance was impacted by the increased competitive environment.

Motorola shipped 10.5 million mobile devices during the period, including 5.3 million smartphones and 200,000 tablets. This compares with 11.3 million devices, with 4.9 million smartphones, in Q410.

For the full year, Motorola reported a net loss of US$249 million, compared with a prior-year loss of US$86 million, on revenue of US$13.1 billion, up 14 per cent.

North America remains Motorola’s largest market, accounting for 48 per cent of sales during the period. Other significant markets for Motorola in Q4 were Latin America (22 per cent) and Greater China (15 per cent).
In a statement, Sanjay Jha, chairman and CEO of Motorola said that “we remain energised by the proposed merger with Google and continue to focus on creating innovative technologies.”

Samsung reported the expected strong performance for its mobile business, citing “strong sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note.”

The company said smartphones led the growth in mobile sales with developed markets, and the EU in particular, showing strong growth. Smartphone shipments were up 30 per cent quarter-on-quarter – although it stopped giving volume figures some time ago.

For the fourth quarter, Samsung’s mobile sales hit KRW17.2 trillion (US$15.3 billion), up 54 per cent year-on-year. Mobile sales reached KRW53.4 trillion for the twelve months, up 40 per cent on 2010.

For 2012, the company forecasts smartphone sales will grow a further 30 per cent, although feature phone growth will slow. The company also expects tablet sales to increase significantly year-on-year, with new mass-market models intensifying competition.

On a group level, Samsung saw a 17 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit for Q411 to reach KRW4.0 trillion. Q411 revenue was KRW47.3 trillion, up 13 per cent year-on-year.

However, net profit for the full year 2011 fell 15 per cent to KRW13.7 trillion despite revenue of KRW165 trillion, up 6.7 per cent year-on-year.