MTN appointed two new CEOs for its West African operations in Congo-Brazzaville and Benin, as rival Orange looks to increase its presence in the region, according to Bloomberg.

Stephen Blewett will now head up MTN’s operations in Benin, and Djibril Ouattara is set to take over the company’s unit in Congo-Brazzaville.

Bloomberg reports MTN “is appointing new senior managers in West Africa” as Orange entered into talks with India’s Airtel to acquire four of its African operations, including Congo Brazzaville.

Orange last month also announced the launch of the ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) submarine cable, of which it is a consortium member, in Benin.

Financials
MTN, the continent’s largest mobile operator, announced a total revenue fall of 4.9 per cent to $5.41 billion in its first half results for 2015, as the company was hit by industrial action, unkind currency movements and a weak macro economy.

The poor set of results, however did not seemingly reflect the company’s performance in the two markets where it has made management changes.

Revenue increased by 0.8 per cent in its “smaller opco cluster”, which groups together a number of the company’s smaller operations, including Benin and Congo-Brazzaville.

Subscribers in this particular segment also increased by 3.9 per cent, reaching 33.5 million.

“Revenue was supported by solid growth in Zambia, Benin, Guinea Bissau, Congo-Brazzaville and South Sudan,” the company said in its result statement.

MTN’s West Africa shake up follows the appointment of Mteto Nyati as CEO of its South African operations, replacing Mobily-bound Ahmad Farroukh last month.

MTN did not respond when approached for comment.