MTN Group CEO Shuter to head BT's enterprise unit

By Nqobile Dludla

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The chief executive officer of South Africa's MTN Group <MTNJ.J>, Rob Shuter, has been appointed to head the enterprise unit of British broadband and mobile operator BT <BT.L> from next year, the two firms said on Friday.

MTN will announce Shuter's successor in the next four to eight weeks, Africa's biggest mobile operator by subscribers said in a separate statement.

In March MTN announced that Shuter would step down at the end of his four-year term in March 2021, with the 52-year old saying he chose not to renew his contract.

"I'm delighted to welcome Rob to BT. He brings a wealth of international telecoms experience and has a track record of driving innovation in business and consumer markets," BT Group CEO Philip Jansen said in a separate statement.

"This will make him ideally suited to drive forward the support we provide to UK businesses and public sector organisations."

Prior to joining MTN, Shuter served as CEO of Vodafone's <VOD.L> European Cluster as well as CEO of Vodafone Netherlands.

During his tenure, Shuter has helped MTN navigate major regulatory challenges, especially in Nigeria, and returned the mobile operator to growth.

MTN, which will release its interim results on Aug.6, has decided not to declare a 2020 interim dividend due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related ongoing uncertainty, it said in its trading statement.

Should conditions warrant a final dividend, it would be no more than 390 cents per share, which is aligned to its current dividend policy, it added.

"The key factors to consider will include the general macro-economic environment, the status of cash upstreaming from operating companies and the outlook for the holding company leverage ratio," the telecom operator said.

Shares in MTN fell 6.88% after the announcement but recovered some losses to stand 4.70% lower by 1045 GMT, on track for their biggest daily fall in nearly two months.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Jason Neely and Kirsten Donovan)