MTN Nigeria has announced a profit after tax of N4.1 billion for the third quarter ending in September 2024, showing modest progress amidst challenging financial conditions.
Despite this Q3 profit, the telecom giant reported a substantial nine-month loss after tax of N514.9 billion, primarily due to significant foreign exchange losses. In its Wednesday report, MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecom operator, highlighted an adjusted nine-month profit after tax of N118.5 billion—down by 59.2 percent year-on-year, indicating the company would have seen profits if not for forex-related losses.
With 77 million subscribers, MTN noted that high inflation and rising interest rates are curbing consumer spending, impacting its business activity. However, the company expressed confidence in enhancing efficiency and pursuing growth in its commercial operations.
As of September 2024, the naira closed at N1,542/$, up from N907/$ in December 2023, exerting additional pressure on MTN’s business. Yet, MTN acknowledged that improvements in forex market liquidity have helped lessen its exposure to foreign currency obligations.
MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Karl Toriola, stated, “In the first nine months of 2024, we sustained growth in our underlying operating performance—driven by our resilient business model and operational agility—despite challenging conditions.”
The report also showed a 0.9 percent decrease in total subscribers, bringing the base to 77 million from 78 million, mainly due to new National Identification Number and Subscriber Identification Module regulations. Active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets dropped by 21.8 percent to 2.8 million, affecting revenues.
Despite these challenges, MTN’s service revenue rose by 33.6 percent to N2.4 trillion, underscoring the resilience of its core operations. Active data users also grew by 5.1 percent, totaling 45.3 million, reflecting ongoing demand for data services.
