MTN Nigeria Communications Plc reported a loss after tax of N400.4 billion for the full year of 2024, reflecting the impact of Nigeria’s challenging economic environment. Despite a 35.9% increase in revenue to N3.3 trillion, the telecom giant’s performance was heavily affected by the depreciation of the naira and rising operational costs.
The company’s audited financial results, published on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) website, revealed that the record-high inflation and naira devaluation significantly impacted its profit margins. MTN’s net foreign exchange losses surged by 24.98% to N925.36 billion, compared to N740.43 billion in 2023. The telco attributed the steep losses to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to unify the foreign exchange market, which worsened its foreign currency obligations.
MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Karl Toriola, explained that the devaluation of the naira, which dropped to N1,535/$1 by the end of 2024 from N907/$1 at the end of 2023, significantly increased the company’s operational expenses. The impact was most pronounced on tower leases and other foreign currency commitments. However, he noted that the improvement in US dollar liquidity in the latter half of the year helped to stabilize the forex market.
Without the foreign exchange losses, MTN Nigeria would have reported a profit after tax of N247.3 billion for the year.
Subscriber Growth and Network Expansion
MTN Nigeria recorded notable subscriber growth in 2024, with its total subscriber base rising by 1.6% to 80.9 million, despite the regulatory restrictions on NIN-SIM registration by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Its active data subscribers also grew by 7% to 47.7 million, supported by the company’s network expansion and innovative customer value propositions.
The telco invested N443.5 billion in capital expenditure (excluding leases) to improve network coverage, capacity, and quality of service.
Future Outlook
Despite the financial setback, MTN Nigeria remains optimistic about a recovery in 2025. The company expects its recent tariff hike to boost revenue by at least 40% in the new financial year. It also plans to increase capital expenditure to further enhance network capacity and service delivery.
The telco has set a target to restore positive shareholders’ equity and retained earnings positions within the next 12 months, though it acknowledged that uncertainties surrounding exchange rates and consumer demand could affect the recovery timeline.
MTN Group, the parent company of MTN Nigeria, had earlier warned shareholders of a significant decline in earnings per share for 2024 due to forex losses from Nigeria. However, the approval of tariff adjustments by Nigerian regulators in January 2025 is seen as a key step towards the long-term sustainability of the business.
The MTN Group is expected to release its full-year financial results on March 17, 2025.
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