MTN Nigeria Net Loss Grows by 192% to N400 billion
MTN Nigeria Plc net loss grew by more than 192% year on year to N400 billion at the end of financial year 2024, according to its audited report. Details from the report revealed that the telecom company grew revenue by 36.1% year on year to N3.360 trillion from N2.468 trillion in the comparable year in 2023.
Its improved top line performance was bolstered by strong data and voice revenue, up by 49.1% and 14.5% respectively. In the same year, MTN Nigeria reported a significant surge in expenses, which toned down the beauty of the telecom impressive revenue growth.
In 2024, MTN Nigeria expenses surged by 61.7% year on year to settle at N2.047 trillion from N1.266 trillion in 2023. The breakdown showed that its costs of sales in 2024 increased by 30.1% to N528.187 billion from N406 billion. Reflecting high inflationary environment, MTN Nigeria’s operating expenses skyrocketed by 76.6% to N1.519 trillion from N860 billion in 2023.
A significant growth in net finance costs drained the earnings strength and weaken profitability. Bombed by about 145% surge in lease costs, net finance costs rose by 91% year on year to N403.207 billion from N211.112 billion. Its borrowing costs also increase by 37.1% to N172 billion in the same year.
Net foreign exchange losses increased by 25% to N925.361 billion, from N740 billion as a results of significant foreign currency priced liabilities. About N562 billion was realised as FX loss in 2024, which was 438% above N104.446 billion FX loss realised in 2023.
MTN Nigeria said the improved liquidity in the forex market enabled the telecom company to reduce the outstanding LC US$ obligations by 95% to approximately US$20.8 million, tapering the impact of future naira depreciation and the associated finance costs.
It said the reduction accounted for approximately 86% of the realised net forex losses of N561.9 billion recorded in the period, while the unrealised portion amounted to N363.4 billion.
Speaking to the result, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola said, “We are encouraged by the resilience of our business in FY 2024, which reflects our strong commitment to driving growth and managing costs.
“Despite facing significant macroeconomic headwinds, including recordhigh inflation, as well as ongoing currency and energy price volatility, we remained focused on executing our strategy and creating long-term value for our stakeholders.
“We are grateful to the authorities for the recent approval of tariff adjustments, which are essential for our industry’s sustainability and crucial for addressing our negative capital position.
“Navigating a challenging operating environment Inflation reached 34.8% in December 2024, averaging 33.2% for the year, significantly impacting operational costs and consumer purchasing power.
“The Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) was raised on multiple occasions throughout the year, reaching 27.5%, aimed at counteracting naira volatility and elevated inflation. This increased our cost of borrowing.
“In the foreign exchange market, the naira depreciated to N1,535/US$ by the end of 2024 (from N907.1/US$ on 31 December 2023), as businesses and consumers continued to grapple with escalating costs. However, we took some comfort from the improvement in US dollar liquidity in the forex market and reduced volatility over the course of the year, as the naira exchange rate held relatively stable through H2”.
MTN Chief said these headwinds significantly impacted MTN Nigeria’s costs, particularly those related to tower leases and other foreign currency obligations.
“Notwithstanding, through our focus on commercial execution and operational efficiencies, MTN Nigeria delivered a robust topline performance and an encouraging H2 improvement in the bottom line.
“Sustained commercial momentum moderated the impacts of macro headwinds 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. Our subscriber base climbed further to 80.9 million, up 1.6%, despite the effects of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) industry-wide directive on NIN-SIM registration”.
Likewise, active data subscribers grew by 7% to 47.7 million, Toriola said. “Our diligent gross connection and churn management initiatives, including ongoing innovation in our customer value propositions, supported the growth of our subscriber base.
“These interventions underpinned the significant growth in the traffic on our network, reflecting the structural demand for our digital and connectivity services.
“Data traffic rose by 42.9%, with average monthly data usage per user growing by 33.6% to 11.2GB. 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.
“In this regard, we revamped our customer acquisition strategy. Although this intervention resulted in a decline in active wallets (down 46.6% to 2.8 million), it was essential to establish a sustainable growth trajectory for our MoMo PSB ecosystem
Supported by strong commercial momentum, service revenue was up by 35.9%, led by data, voice, fintech and digital services, as well as the once-off revenue recognition relating to outstanding USSD debt owed by deposit money banks.
“Thanks to our regulators’ intervention, the uncertainty around the outstanding USSD debt recovery has been resolved, enabling us to recognise approximately N74 billion in revenue.
“As at December 2024, approximately 34% had been repaid, and the remaining balance was recognised as receivables, which are expected to be settled in 2025.
“Excluding the USSD revenue recognition, underlying service revenue growth remained robust (up 32.8%), and tracked at the upper end of our FY 2024 guidance of ‘high-20% to low 30%’.
“To mitigate the effects of macro headwinds on our business, exacerbated by the introduction of VAT on leases in September 2023, we drove our expense efficiency programme to deliver EBITDA growth of 9.2%.
“While the EBITDA margin decreased by 9.6pp to 39.1%, reflecting the above-mentioned forex impact, we are pleased with the strong growth in our Q4 EBITDA (up 53.9%) and 3.5pp YoY improvement in margin to 45.8%.
“Forex losses arising from the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated obligations resulted in a loss after tax of N400.4 billion (2023: N137 billion loss), albeit with a positive result in Q4 (PAT of N114.5 billion).
“Consequently, we reported negative retained earnings of N607.5 billion (December 2023: negative N208 billion), which was an improvement from the June 2024 balance of N727.2 billion.
“Shareholders’ equity was negative N458 billion (December 2023: negative N40.8 billion), compared to negative N577.7 billion in June 2024. We delivered a positive free cash flow of N388.2 billion, down 3.7%.
“Uplifting communities through shared value creation notwithstanding the macro challenges, in 2024, MTN Nigeria reinforced its commitment to creating shared value. Our efforts continued to positively impact the lives of Nigerians, foster economic growth and inclusion, and strengthen governance across our operations.
“We achieved a 11% reduction in cumulative scope 1 and 2 emissions as at December 2024 compared to the baseline value determined in 2021. This underscores our dedication to reducing our carbon footprint and driving sustainable operations aligned with our environmental goals. We made significant progress toward advancing workplace inclusion and gender equality as our female representation increased by 2.8pp to 41.5%, demonstrating our continued commitment to diversity and inclusion.
“To bridge the digital divide and support Nigeria’s digital economy, we expanded broadband coverage to 90.1%, up from 89.8% in 2023. Further, we invested N3.6 billion through the MTN Nigeria Foundation in community focused projects, impacting over 613,000 individuals across 225 communities.
“These initiatives included revitalising healthcare facilities, awarding scholarships, and enhancing educational infrastructure to create lasting value for society. As we continue to navigate the challenges in our operating environment, including elevated inflation and unpredictability of foreign exchange markets, we will continue our work to drive sustainable growth and operational resilience.
“Our primary focus is to restore a positive net asset position in the current financial year. The recent approvals of new tariffs by the regulator will enable us to sustain the required investments in our networks, which are needed to enhance customer experience and safeguard the sustainability of our business and industry.
“In light of the developments in our operating context, we expect FY 2025 service revenue growth of ‘at least mid-40%’ as tariff adjustments take effect. We also anticipate an EBITDA margin of ‘at least mid-40%’ and capex intensity in the ‘upper teens’, in line with our disciplined approach to capital allocation.
“Additionally, we have reinstated a revised medium-term guidance framework for our business. We expect service revenue growth of ‘at least 20%’ and a recovery in our EBITDA margin to ‘at least 50% over the medium term.
“We also anticipate capex intensity subsiding as it normalises over the medium term, following the expected acceleration in our capex deployment in 2025 to enhance network capacity, digital inclusion and customer experience.
“In terms of our balance sheet, we aim for a recovery in our retained income and shareholders’ equity positions to positive balances within the next 12 months.
“However, the near-term uncertainties in our macro environment, including exchange rate and potential price elasticity from the new tariff implementation, may impact the trajectory of our recovery. We will monitor developments and update our stakeholders as appropriate while we continue to drive our growth ambitions.” CBN Rejects N1.6trn from Investors, Cuts Treasury Bills Rates
