MTN Nigeria announced a loss after tax of N400.44 billion for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, as the depreciation of the naira led to increased foreign exchange losses that adversely affected the company’s earnings.
This loss, revealed in the firm’s audited financial results released on Thursday, indicates a 192 per cent rise from the N137.02 billion loss reported in 2023.
The telecom company, serving over 80 million customers, indicated that the significant decline of the naira had a profound effect on its foreign exchange exposure, with forex losses escalating to N925 billion from N740 billion in the previous year.
By the end of 2024, the naira weakened to N1,535/$ from N907/$1 as of December 31, 2023, according to MTN.
Even with this outcome, the telecom operator experienced revenue growth of 36 per cent, reaching N3.36 trillion in 2024, up from N2.47 trillion the year before, fueled by ongoing demand for data and digital services.
The report indicated, “Forex losses resulting from the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated obligations led to a loss after tax of N400.4 billion (2023: N137 billion loss), although there was a positive outcome in Q4 (PAT of N114.5 billion).
Operating profit, which is profit derived from the company’s primary business endeavours—was reported at N778.2 billion, showing a nominal rise of 0.46 per cent compared to N774.6 billion the previous year. Nonetheless, these gains were offset by forex losses.
In his comments, MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola stated, “We are optimistic about the resilience of our business in FY 2024, showcasing our strong dedication to fostering growth and managing expenses.”
A detailed analysis of MTN’s financials revealed that data remains the principal revenue contributor, totalling N1.59 trillion, a 49.08 per cent increase from the N1.07 trillion recorded in 2023. Voice revenue reached N1.30 trillion, reflecting a 14.53 per cent rise from the N1.14 trillion noted in 2023.
The surge in data revenue was attributed to growing smartphone adoption, with data traffic increasing by 42.9 per cent and the average data consumption per subscriber expanding by 33.6 per cent, hitting 11.2GB (which saw a 37.9 per cent rise to 13.2GB in Q4).
MTN further reported that its subscriber count grew to 80.9 million, a slight increase of 1.6 per cent despite the impact of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) NIN-SIM directive, with active data subscribers climbing by seven per cent to 47.7 million.
