MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) Plc recorded a net loss of N400.43 billion for full year, 2024, primarily due to a significant foreign exchange (FX) loss of N925.36 billion.
The company’s audited results for the year ended December 31, 2024 revealed that, forex losses arising from the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated obligations resulted in a loss after tax of N400.4 billion as against loss of N137 billion in 2023, albeit with a positive result of N114.5 billion achieved in fourth quarter (Q4), 2024.
Consequently, MTNN reported negative retained earnings of N607.5 billion higher than N208 billion in December 2023, which was an improvement from the June 2024 balance of N727.2 billion.
Shareholders’ equity was negative of N458 billion as against negative N40.8 billion in December 2023, compared to negative N577.7 billion in June 2024. The company delivered a positive free cash flow of N388.2 billion, down 3.7 per cent. In light of the negative retained earnings, the board did not recommend a dividend for full year 2024.
MTNN’s revenue grew by 36.13 per cent to N3.36 trillion for the 2024 financial year, up from N2.47 trillion in 2023, driven by robust service revenues, including increased voice and data earnings.
The telecom giant also recorded a 1.6 per cent increase in total subscribers, reaching 80.9 million, while active data users grew by seven per cent to 47.7 million. Service revenue climbed 35.9 per cent to N3.3 trillion, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9.2 per cent to N1.3 trillion. However, the EBITDA margin declined by 9.6 percentage points to 39.1 per cent.
CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola said, “we are encouraged by the resilience of our business in FY 2024, which reflects our strong commitment to driving growth and managing costs. 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.”
He stated that, “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.”
Toriola pointed out that, “we made significant progress in driving the growth of our commercial operations, boosted by our ongoing investments in the coverage and capacity of our network to accommodate traffic growth and enhance the quality of service. This was a major focus of our N443.5 billion capex (ex-leases) in the year.”
He added that, “in fintech, we recalibrated the business’ growth strategy to improve the quality and stickiness of our wallet base and the development of advanced services, supported by the promotion of MoMo PSB app.”
On outlook, MTNN CEO said, “we will continue to implement initiatives to accelerate our recovery from the current negative capital position and create sustained value for all stakeholders.”
