MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN Nigeria) has announced its audited results for the financial year ended 31 December 2022.
In the result, the largest telecommunication company in Nigeria, increased its mobile subscribers base by 10.5 percent to 75.6 million. In total, MTN Nigeria added 7.2 million subscribers in 2022.
Similarly, the only telecommunications company with active 5G network connectivity in Nigeria as at the time of this report added 5.2 million active data users in 2022. This signifies 15.3% increase of active data users to 39.5 million.
MoMo
MTN also increased its active financial services subscribers by 57.5% to 14.9 million.
Recall that following the final approval for a Payment Service Bank (PSB) licence granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), MTN Nigeria’s fintech subsidiary, MoMO Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) Limited, formally commenced operations in May 2022.
The company further reported 2.0 million active mobile money (MoMo) wallets since the launch of PSB.
Financials:
MTN Nigeria increased its service revenue by 21.5% to N2.0 trillion, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 22.0% to N1.1 trillion.
The EBITDA margin increased by 0.2 percentage points (pp) to 53.2%. Profit before tax (PBT) grew by 22.3% to N534.0 billion.
Also, the profit for the year grew by 21.1% to N361.5 billion (excluding non-controlling interest).
Earnings per share (EPS) rose by 21.3% to N17.79 kobo, while the capital expenditure (Capex) rose by 23.5% to N504.3 billion (up 18.6% to N361.0 billion, excluding the right-of-use assets)
The company has also proposed final dividend of N10 per share.
Commenting on the results, Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria CEO, said that despite the challenging operating environment, the company has remained resolute in its provision of services to customers.
“2022 was challenging due to global macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, resulting in higher inflation, supply chain uncertainties, foreign exchange volatility and availability. In Nigeria, Inflation reached a 17-year high of 21.5% in November before moderating slightly to 21.3% in December, bringing the average for the year to 18.8% and putting pressure on consumer spending. To curb rising inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria increased interest rates four times in 2022, bringing the Monetary Policy Rate to 16.5% – up by five pp during the year. This was further raised by 1pp in January 2023 to 17.5%.
“We continued to manage and invest in the resilience of our business and networks, expanding coverage and capacity with a focus on expense efficiencies and disciplined capital allocation. We became the first mobile network operator to launch a 5G network in Nigeria, providing coverage in key cities in the six geopolitical regions. Since its commercial launch in September 2022, we have rolled out 588 sites and brought the 5G network to 5G-enabled smartphones, starting with iPhone users.
“In this regard, we made good progress towards the execution of Ambition 2025 while delivering commercial and financial performance in line with our medium-term guidance”.
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Toriola said the company will continue to create shared value for the stakeholders.
MTN Nigeria 2022 Results Key Metrics:
- Mobile subscribers increased by 5% to 75.6 million
- Added 2 million subscribers in 2022
- Active data users increased by 3% to 39.5 million
- Added 2 million active users in 2022
- Active fintech subscribers rose by 5% to 14.9 million
- 0 million active mobile money (MoMo) wallets since the launch of PSB
- Service revenue increased by 5% to N2.0 trillion
- Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 22.0% to 1 trillion
- EBITDA margin increased by 2 percentage points (pp) to 53.2%
- Profit before tax (PBT) grew by 3% to N534.0 billion
- Profit for the year grew by 1% to N361.5 billion (excluding non-controlling interest)
- Earnings per share (EPS) rose by 3% to N17.79 kobo
- Capital expenditure (Capex) rose by 5% to N504.3 billion (up 18.6% to N361.0 billion, excluding the right-of-use assets)
- Proposed final dividend of N10 per share
