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MTN Nigeria Plc has announced a staggering loss before tax of N177.8 billion for the fiscal year 2023, a significant downturn from the N518.8 billion pre-tax profit reported a year earlier.
The losses have led to a complete wipe-out of shareholders’ funds. The primary driver behind this unprecedented loss is a massive foreign currency loss amounting to N740 billion, a drastic increase from the N81 billion reported in 2022.
Despite challenging conditions, the company witnessed several key highlights, including a 5.3% increase in total subscribers to 79.7 million and a 12.7% rise in active data users to 44.6 million.
However, these positive indicators were overshadowed by the adverse financial impact. Service revenue saw a substantial 22.4% increase, reaching N2.5 trillion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 12.3% to N1.2 trillion, but the EBITDA margin contracted by 4.5 percentage points to 48.7%.The company reported a loss after tax of N137.0 billion, primarily attributed to the net forex loss.
Profit after tax (PAT), adjusted for the forex loss, decreased by 14.3% to N344.5 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) took a hit, declining to negative N6.38 kobo (N16.56 kobo adjusted for the forex loss, down 14.1%).The challenging operating environment in 2023, marked by rising inflation, currency devaluation, and foreign exchange shortages, posed significant headwinds for MTN Nigeria. Geopolitical disruptions and cash shortages in Q1 compounded the difficulties, with a redesign of the naira exacerbating the situation.
In response to these challenges, the company commented, “2023 witnessed a very challenging operating environment characterized by rising inflation, currency devaluation, and foreign exchange shortages, complicated by geopolitical disruptions and cash shortages in Q1 arising from a redesign of the naira.”
The inflation rate soared to 28.9% in December 2023, the highest in 18 years, with an average rate of 24.5% throughout the year. These factors contributed to the depletion of retained earnings and shareholders’ fund to negative N208.0 billion and N40.8 billion, respectively.
