MTN's annual profit hammered by Nigeria currency devaluation

MTN Group suffered a 69% slump in full-year earnings, Africa's biggest telecom operator reported on Monday, hit by devaluation of the Nigerian naira and operational challenges in Sudan.

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South Africa-headquartered MTN said its reported headline earnings per share (HEPS) - one of the main profit measures in the country - fell to 98c in the year to 31 December, down from 315c in 2023.

Nigeria has suffered chronic dollar shortages that have forced authorities to devalue the naira as part of the government's measures to stabilise the currency and attract investment.

Coupled with high inflation and interest rates, this has driven up costs and widened MTN Nigeria's pretax loss by more than 200% to ₦550.3bn ($355.76m).

In Sudan, the group's operational and financial performance was hampered by ongoing armed conflict in the country, Group CEO Ralph Mupita said in a statement.

MTN Group, which has 291 million customers across 16 markets in Africa, said its group service revenue decreased by 15% to R177.8bn ($9.78bn). In constant currency, group service revenue rose 14%.

It declared a final dividend of 345c per share, up from 330c.