MTN Nigeria reported a post-tax loss of ₦400.44 billion for the financial year ending December 31, 2024, attributing the decline to the naira’s devaluation, which significantly increased foreign exchange losses and affected earnings.
According to the company’s audited financial statements released on Thursday, this represents a 192% rise from the ₦137.02 billion loss recorded in 2023.
With over 80 million subscribers, the telecom giant noted that the sharp depreciation of the naira greatly impacted its foreign exchange exposure, causing forex losses to surge to ₦925 billion, up from ₦740 billion in the previous year.
MTN highlighted that the naira weakened from ₦907/$1 as of December 31, 2023, to ₦1,535/$ by the end of 2024.
Despite the losses, the company’s revenue grew by 36% to ₦3.36 trillion in 2024, compared to ₦2.47 trillion in the previous year, driven by increased demand for data and digital services.
A section of the report stated, “Foreign exchange losses from the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated obligations resulted in a post-tax loss of ₦400.4 billion (2023: ₦137 billion loss), despite a positive Q4 performance with a profit after tax of ₦114.5 billion.
“As a result, we recorded negative retained earnings of ₦607.5 billion (December 2023: negative ₦208 billion), which marked an improvement from the June 2024 balance of ₦727.2 billion.”
The company’s operating profit, representing earnings from its core business activities, stood at ₦778.2 billion—up marginally by 0.46% from ₦774.6 billion in the previous year. However, these gains were erased by forex losses.
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola remarked, “We are encouraged by our business’s resilience in 2024, which underscores our commitment to driving growth and managing costs.
“Despite facing significant macroeconomic challenges, including record-high inflation, currency volatility, and energy price fluctuations, we remained focused on executing our strategy and delivering long-term value to stakeholders.
“We appreciate the authorities for the recent approval of tariff adjustments, which are crucial for the industry’s sustainability and addressing our negative capital position.”
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc was incorporated on November 8, 2000, as a private limited liability company.
The Nigerian Communications Commission granted the company a license on February 9, 2001, to build and operate GSM cellular network systems and provide related services nationwide.
MTN officially began operations on August 8, 2001.
