Telecommunications giant MTN Group on Wednesday reported an improved first-quarter operational performance as it works to recover from significant losses in 2016.

The JSE-listed group delivered increases in revenue across several operations during the three months to March 31, with significant network investments made over the past few years underpinning the improving revenue trends.

“In the first three months of the year, we saw a continuation of the improving operational momentum experienced in the fourth quarter of 2016. While we still have work to do to meet our full-year targets, we continue to leverage off the progress made during 2016 and are encouraged by the progress in project Ignite in both South Africa and Nigeria,” said MTN group president and CEO Rob Shuter.

With its Ignite initiative and various other strategies in play, MTN aims to reverse the impact of a series of material regulatory, macroeconomic and political challenges experienced across the regions in which it operates, which forced the company into a loss during the year ended December 31.

Shuter, who took the reins in March when MTN completed its “evolution” of the core senior management team that also saw the addition of a new CFO and COO, reported a 7.1% increase in group revenue for the period under review.

During the first quarter, group data revenues surged 29.4% year-on-year, contributing around 20% to overall revenue.

“MTN South Africa reported a solid performance with a 4.1% increase in service revenue and MTN Nigeria delivered continued positive operational momentum and reported an 11.6% increase in revenue,” he said, also highlighting a 19.3% increase in MTN Irancell’s revenue for the period.

“The network investment planned for 2017 is expected to support further market share gains across our markets.”

MTN’s priorities for its South Africa operations remain driving network quality, offering attractive value propositions and improving the customer experience.

Further, despite the challenging economic conditions it faces, MTN Nigeria continues to execute on its network roll-out plans with a particular focus on the data network.