MTN Group warned on Thursday that it’ll report a pointy decline in full-year headline earnings per share (Heps) as overseas change losses proceed to pummel its income regardless of what it has described as a great operational efficiency.
Heps for the yr ended 31 December 2024 will decline by between 59% and 79%, MTN mentioned, whereas earnings per share will plunge by greater than 100%. Regardless of this, its share value was buying and selling up greater than 2.4% at 9.58am in Johannesburg. Earlier within the buying and selling session, the share touched R122.50, a 52-week excessive.
It mentioned Heps was negatively impacted by non-operational objects of some -R7.18/share, together with hyperinflation changes of -16c (2023: -R1.50); foreign exchange losses of -R5.98, which incorporates Nigerian naira depreciation impression of -R3.99 (2023: -R5.93); deferred tax cost of -58c (2023: nil); and different non-operational objects of -46c (2023: -23c).
Regardless of the weak earnings, MTN reiterated that it expects to report a “robust underlying efficiency” for the 2024 monetary yr when it publishes its full-year numbers subsequent month.
“We’re inspired by the relative stability of some essential key macroeconomic indicators within the second half of 2024, comparable to inflation and foreign exchange charges in a few of our key markets. This offered some assist to our efficiency within the interval, and we anticipate reporting a delightful optimistic momentum in H2 earnings, free money circulation and holding firm leverage ratio,” it mentioned.
“In our bigger operations, we anticipate to report an enchancment within the trajectory of MTN South Africa’s profitability, notably in H2, in addition to robust operational performances in MTN Nigeria, MTN Ghana and MTN Uganda.”
‘Important milestone’
The group mentioned the January 2025 approval of tariff changes by regulators in Nigeria was a “vital milestone in making certain the long-term sustainability of our enterprise and the telecoms trade within the nation”.
“MTN Nigeria has began to implement the tariff changes, which symbolize an essential step in direction of addressing the impacts of the prevailing financial challenges on the operation,” it mentioned.
Learn: Ralph Mupita to remain on at MTN till 2030
“The monetary outcomes, nevertheless, remained affected by a number of exterior elements together with the destructive impression of native foreign money devaluation in FY24, notably the naira, in opposition to the US greenback on our outcomes. This included each translation results and foreign exchange losses in our financials.”
MTN Group will publish its annual outcomes on 17 March 2025. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
Get breaking information from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Join right here.
Don’t miss:
MTN continues to be king of velocity – however Vodacom’s 5G is quicker
