MTN Nigeria Reports N400.44 Billion Loss in 2024 Financial Results
MTN Nigeria recently disclosed a loss after tax of N400.44 billion for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. This significant loss was attributed to the depreciation of the naira, which led to increased foreign exchange losses impacting the company’s earnings negatively.
The reported loss marks a 192 per cent increase from the N137.02 billion loss recorded in the previous year, highlighting the challenges faced by the telecom giant due to currency fluctuations.
With a customer base of over 80 million, MTN Nigeria cited the substantial decline of the naira as a key factor affecting its foreign exchange exposure. Forex losses surged to N925 billion in 2024 from N740 billion in the previous year, reflecting the volatility in the currency market.
By the end of 2024, the naira had weakened considerably, reaching N1,535/$ from N907/$1 as of December 31, 2023, according to MTN’s financial report.
Despite the substantial loss, MTN Nigeria experienced a revenue growth of 36 per cent, reaching N3.36 trillion in 2024 compared to N2.47 trillion in the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by the continued demand for data and digital services.
The company reported, “Forex losses resulting from the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated obligations led to a loss after tax of N400.4 billion (compared to N137 billion loss in 2023), although there was a positive outcome in Q4 with a profit after tax of N114.5 billion.”
Operating profit stood at N778.2 billion, showing a nominal increase of 0.46 per cent from N774.6 billion in the previous year. However, these gains were offset by forex losses, impacting the overall financial performance of MTN Nigeria.
In a statement, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola expressed optimism about the company’s resilience in 2024, emphasizing their commitment to driving growth and managing expenses effectively.
An in-depth analysis of MTN’s financials revealed that data services remained the primary revenue contributor, amounting to N1.59 trillion, a 49.08 per cent increase from the previous year. Voice revenue also saw growth, reaching N1.30 trillion, up by 14.53 per cent.
The surge in data revenue was linked to the growing adoption of smartphones, with data traffic increasing by 42.9 per cent and average data consumption per subscriber rising by 33.6 per cent to 11.2GB (reaching 13.2GB in Q4).
MTN reported an increase in its subscriber count to 80.9 million, a slight uptick of 1.6 per cent despite the challenges posed by the Nigerian Communications Commission’s NIN-SIM directive. Additionally, active data subscribers grew by seven per cent to 47.7 million.
