MTN suffers R11.2 billion loss. What went wrong?

Africa’s largest mobile network operator, MTN, faced major financial challenges in 2024, which resulted in a net loss of R11.2 billion.

MTN released its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2024 on Monday. The results show that foreign exchange headwinds, particularly the Nigerian naira, weighed on the mobile network operator’s performance.

Despite this, MTN remains optimistic, as it projects a minimum dividend of R3.70 per share for 2025.

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How MTN lost R11.2 billion

MTN operates in 19 markets across Africa and the Middle East, including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Syria, and Sudan.

However, it derives most of its revenue from South Africa and Nigeria.

For the 2024 financial year, MTN reported a 15.4% decline in service revenue, down to R177.8 billion.

The telecommunication giant attributed this decline to currency depreciation and an R11.7 billion impairment in conflict-affected Sudan.

As a result, the company recorded a net loss of R11.2 billion, compared to a profit of R4 billion in the previous year.

MTN remains optimistic

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita said, “We are pleased to report strong underlying performance and strategic execution for the financial year 2024 despite challenges in the operating environment.

“We are encouraged by the relative stability of some important key macroeconomic indicators in H2, such as inflation and foreign exchange (forex) rates in certain of our key markets.

This supported our results in the period, with a pleasingly positive momentum in H2 earnings, free cash flow and leverage ratio.”

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How SA performed

The telecommunication giant said its division in SA continued to steer through a challenging macro environment in 2024, with interest rates remaining relatively elevated and economic growth subdued.

However, MTN said it has noticed an intensification of competition in the telecoms sector in the market.

“The overall MTN SA result was supported by a 6.4% increase in subscribers to 39.8 million, a net addition of 2.4 million in the year.”

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