AGS NEWS – MTN Nigeria Plc has revealed a significant financial setback in its audited results for the year ending December 31, 2023.

The company recorded a loss before tax amounting to N177.8 billion, a drastic shift from the pre-tax profit of N518.8 billion reported in the previous year.

This downturn was primarily attributed to a substantial forex loss of N740.4 billion, resulting from the sharp devaluation of the naira throughout 2023.

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The company disclosed this in a statement released on Friday, which also highlighted a reported loss after tax of N137 billion, in stark contrast to the restated Profit After Tax (PAT) of N348.7 billion reported in 2022.

MTN Nigeria further explained that the financial decline had repercussions on its retained earnings and shareholders’ equity, which were reported at N208 billion and N40.8 billion, respectively, as of December 2023.

Adjusting for the significant forex loss, the restated PAT would have been N344.5 billion, reflecting a 14.3 percent decrease.

The company attributed the adverse impact of the forex movement on its operations, particularly on operating expenses and net finance costs, to the changes in the Nigerian forex operations announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria on June 14, 2023.

These changes led to a 96.7 percent movement in the exchange rate, reaching N907/US$ at the end of December 2023.

MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola, remarked on the challenging operating environment characterized by rising inflation, currency devaluation, and forex shortages.

Despite these challenges, the company continued to invest in network infrastructure to meet the rising demand for data and expand coverage.

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Key highlights of the report include an increase in total subscribers by 5.3 percent to 79.7 million, active data users by 12.7 percent to 44.6 million, and active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets by 163.2 percent to 5.3 million.

Service revenue also saw a growth of 22.4 percent to N2.5 trillion, while Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) grew by 12.3 percent to N1.2 trillion, despite a decrease in EBITDA margin by 4.5 percentage points to 48.7 percent.