MTN Nigeria has reported a profit after tax of N4.1bn for the third quarter ended September 2024. This marks a slight improvement amid ongoing financial challenges.
However, despite this profit in Q3, the overall financial results for the nine-month period (three quarters) revealed a significant loss after tax of N514.9bn, primarily driven by substantial foreign exchange losses.
According to its financial report released on Wednesday, Nigeria’s largest telecom operator also disclosed an adjusted profit after tax of N118.5bn, reflecting a 59.2 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.
This adjusted figure indicates that, without the forex losses, the company would have reported a profit during this period.
The operator, with 77 million subscribers, explained that higher inflation and interest rates have weighed on consumers’ spending power, impacting business activity.
Nevertheless, the company expressed optimism about enhancing operational efficiency and driving growth in its commercial operations.
The telco stated that the naira closed at N1,542/$ in September 2024, compared to N907/$ in December 2023, further exerting pressure on business activities.
However, MTN noted that improvements in liquidity in the foreign exchange market have helped reduce the company’s exposure to foreign currency-denominated obligations.
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, stated, “In the first nine months of 2024, we sustained the growth in our underlying operating performance—underpinned by our resilient business model and operational agility—despite challenging conditions.”