Breaking: MTN Nigeria forfeits shareholder funds after suffering N740 billion in foreign exchange losses.

MTN Nigeria Plc has reported a loss before tax of N177.8 billion compared to a pre-tax profit of N518.8 billion a year earlier. The losses resulted in a wipeout of shareholders’ funds.

The company attributed the losses to a massive foreign currency loss of N740 billion up from N81 billion reported in 2022.

This is the company’s first-ever loss since it became a quoted company in Nigeria.

Key Highlights

Total subscribers increased by 5.3% to 79.7 million
Active data users increased by 12.7% to 44.6 million
Active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets increased by 163.2% to 5.3 million
Service revenue increased by 22.4% to N2.5 trillion
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 12.3% to N1.2 trillion
EBITDA margin decreased by 4.5 percentage points (pp) to 48.7%
Loss after tax was N137.0 billion due to net forex loss
Profit after tax (PAT) adjusted for the net forex loss decreased by 14.3% to N344.5 billion
Earnings per share (EPS) declined to negative N6.38 kobo (N16.56 kobo adjusted for the net forex loss, down 14.1%)
Net loss for the year has resulted in a depletion of our retained earnings and shareholders’ fund to negative N208.0 billion and N40.8 billion, respectively
Company Commentary: “2023 witnessed a very challenging operating environment characterised 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.

These factors created severe MTN Nigeria Communications Plc Audited results for the year ended 31 December 2023 2 | Page headwinds for our customers and our business during the year. The inflation rate increased throughout the year, reaching 28.9% in December 2023 – the highest reading in 18 years – with an average rate of 24.5%.

This was further exacerbated by higher fuel prices, arising from the removal of the fuel subsidy in May 2023, with the average prices of diesel and petrol up by 66.4% and 257.1% in 2023 to N1,416.8/litre and N600/litre, respectively. In June 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adopted a more liberal foreign exchange management system and reintroduced the ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ model.

This has resulted in a 96.7% unfavourable movement in the exchange rate against the US dollar from N461.1/US$ in December 2022 to N907.1/US$ (Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) rate) in December 2023. This development contributed meaningfully to the upward pressure on the cost of doing business in Nigeria, and for MTN Nigeria in particular, significantly increased the costs in relation to our tower leases.”

BREAKING: “No more Emilokan”—Ibadan residents protest hardship under Tinubu

Some Nigerians in Ibadan, Oyo State, are currently protesting the high cost of living, food inflation, and economic hardship under President Bola Tinubu administration.

Recall that Nigerians have continued to face various degrees of economic hardship since President Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023.

The protest, which was staged in the Mokola area of Ibadan, had some placard-carrying youths in their numbers chanting songs to drive home their points.

Some of the placards have inscriptions such as ‘No more Emilokan’, ‘End food hike and inflation’, ‘The poor are starving’, ‘Tinubu, don’t forget your promises’, amongst others.

Armed policemen were seen at the protest scene even as demonstrators held the peaceful rally against the economic hardship in the land occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange windows.

The police had warned that no breach of peace would be allowed during any protest in the state.

The protest in Oyo followed others in Kano and Minna, among others, over the economic hardship occasioned by petrol subsidy removal, food inflation, and the high cost of living.

A helicopter carrying Herbert Wigwe and five others crashes on the California-Nevada Border

A helicopter carrying Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Holding, and five other people crashed near the California-Nevada border.

No official confirmation has been made from the bank holding company.

However, sources with knowledge of the matter confirm that Herbert Wigwe was on board the helicopter but cannot confirm if he is dead or if there were survivors.

Also on board were his wife and son. Nairametrics also understands that business mogul Abimbola Ogunbajo was also on board the flight.

However, the United States National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) is still investigating the crash, as authorities have yet to access the crash site.

The NTSB also tweeted