MTN Nigeria has posted a loss of ₦514.9 billion after tax for the first nine months of 2024, largely due to the depreciation of the Nigerian Naira, which increased the company’s foreign currency obligations. According to MTN’s unaudited financial results released on Thursday, this loss marks a substantial increase compared to a ₦15 billion loss in the same period last year.
The telecom giant’s CEO, Karl Toriola, commented that, without the impact of currency revaluation losses, MTN Nigeria would have recorded a profit after tax of ₦118.5 billion, though this would still reflect a 59.2% decrease from last year. Adjustments for forex effects on operating expenses suggest a potential profit increase of 13.3%, bringing profit to ₦367.1 billion.
Despite these challenges, MTN’s service revenue rose by 33.6% to ₦2.4 trillion, driven by demand for core services. Total subscribers dropped slightly by 0.9% to 77 million, due to regulatory compliance with NIN-SIM regulations. Meanwhile, active data users increased by 5.1% to reach 45.3 million. However, active mobile money wallets declined by 21.8%, ending at 2.8 million.
The company’s renegotiation of its tower leases helped control expenses, boosting the EBITDA margin by 2.3 points, even though overall EBITDA declined by 5.3% year-over-year to ₦860.2 billion.
For the reporting period, MTN recorded a negative Earnings Per Share (EPS) of N24.51 kobo. If forex losses were excluded, EPS would have been N5.65 kobo, representing a 59.2% decrease. As of September, the company’s retained earnings and shareholders’ equity turned negative, at ₦723 billion and ₦573.6 billion, respectively.
Toriola emphasized MTN Nigeria’s resilience despite the macroeconomic challenges, highlighting positive cash flow of ₦536.8 billion, an increase of 21.9%. He expressed confidence in MTN’s strategy to accelerate earnings recovery and strengthen its financial position.
MTN continues to work with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to restore lines affected by regulatory disconnections, with the aim of reducing churn and increasing customer value.
