The depreciation of the naira increased foreign exchange losses and negatively impacted MTN Nigeria’s profitability, resulting in an N400.44 billion loss after taxes for the year that concluded on December 31, 2024.
The company’s audited financial results, which were made public on Thursday, revealed the deficit, which is 192% more than the N137.02 billion loss incurred in 2023.
The operator, which has more than 80 million users, reported that its foreign exchange exposure was greatly impacted by the naira’s steep devaluation, with FX losses rising to N925 billion from N740 billion the year before.
According to MTN, the value of the naira fell from N907/$1 on December 31, 2023, to N1,535/$ by the end of 2024.
Despite the outcome, the telco’s revenue increased by 36% to N3.36 trillion in 2024 from N2.47 trillion the year before, fueled by the ongoing demand for digital and data services.
Part of the report stated, “Forex losses arising from the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated obligations resulted in a loss after tax of N400.4bn (2023: N137 billion loss), albeit with a positive result in Q4 (PAT of N114.5bn).
“Consequently, we reported negative retained earnings of N607.5bn (December 2023: negative N208bn), which was an improvement from the June 2024 balance of N727.2bn.”
Operating profit, the profit from the company’s core business activities, stood at N778.2 billion, representing a marginal increase of 0.46 per cent from N774.6 billion in the previous year. However, the gains were wiped out by forex losses.
“We are encouraged by the resilience of our business in FY 2024, which reflects our strong commitment to driving growth and managing costs,” stated Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria.
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“Despite facing significant macroeconomic headwinds, including record-high inflation, as well as ongoing currency and energy price volatility, we remained focused on executing our strategy and creating long-term value for our stakeholders.
“We are grateful to the authorities for the recent approval of tariff adjustments, which are essential for our industry’s sustainability and crucial for addressing our negative capital position.”
On November 8, 2000, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc was established as a private limited liability business.
It was granted a licence by the Nigerian Communications Commission on February 9, 2001, to undertake the business of building and operating GSM cellular network systems and other related services nationwide in Nigeria.
The company commenced operations on August 8, 2001.
