MTN Group Limited, a leading telecom operator in Africa, has announced a significant 41.2% decline in EBITDA for the first half of 2024, dropping to R29.0 billion from R49.4 billion in the same period last year.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This downturn was largely driven by the severe devaluation of the Nigerian naira, which heavily impacted the company’s financial performance.
Service revenue also fell by 20.8% to R85.3 billion, although when measured in constant currency, the Group experienced a 12.1% increase.
The naira’s devaluation, along with other macroeconomic pressures, led to a drastic 278.6% reduction in basic earnings per share, plummeting to -409 cents.
Despite these financial setbacks, MTN Group continued to push forward with strategic initiatives, including market exits and localizations. The company’s fintech platform showed resilience, reporting a 27.2% increase in revenue, while data traffic volumes surged by 35.7%.
However, subscriber growth remained modest at 0.8%, with regulatory challenges in Nigeria and Sudan tempering expansion.
As MTN navigates through these challenging times, the company is focused on accelerating expense efficiencies and maintaining its medium-term goals.
With a keen eye on growth opportunities in more stable markets like Ghana and Uganda, MTN is also implementing strategies to turn around its performance in Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda.
Additionally, the Group has proposed extending its B-BBEE initiative, MTN Zakhele Futhi, by three years, reinforcing its commitment to economic transformation and shared value creation in South Africa.
