MTN suffers more forex losses on inflation, weak naira

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has reported another loss, the second in a row after declaring a loss after tax of N392.7 billion for the first quarter of 2024.

This is coming after growing its service revenue by 32.0 per cent to N747.3 billion year-on-year, the telco recorded its second loss since it was listed on the Nigerian Exchange. It disclosed this in its earnings statement for the first quarter of 2024.

MTN noted that its net loss for the quarter further increased its accumulated losses and negative shareholders’ funds to N599.2 billion and N434.7 billion, respectively. It highlighted that its Profit after tax adjusted for the net forex loss declined by 57.8 percent to N47.1 billion.

“Further adjusting for the impact of the naira devaluation in opex, PAT would have been down by 5.3 percent to N105.6 billion,” MTN said. The telco’s net foreign exchange loss stood at N656.37 billion.

MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, KarlbToriola, noted that severe macroeconomic headwinds overshadowed a solid operating performance.

“The operating environment in the first quarter remained very challenging, with rising inflation and continued naira depreciation off an already low base.”

He stated that the naira’s devaluation and record-high inflation have impacted the operating environment for businesses in Nigeria.

“These factors have caused significant difficulties for businesses operating in Nigeria, including MTN Nigeria, putting additional pressure on consumers, the cost of doing business, and further foreign exchange (forex) losses,” he added.