A car drives past MTN cellphone company’s advertisement in Lagos, Nigeria. File Photo: Bloomberg
Nicola Mawson
MTN, Africa’s largest cellular operator, said yesterday that it would report a headline loss per share of between 271c and 217c, while the basic loss per share would be between 434c and 383c for the half year to June.
The JSE-listed mobile operator said while it had encouraging results from both Ghana and Uganda – with South Africa set to show encouraging progress in key areas – the company’s results were adversely affected by several factors, not least of these being further devaluation in the Naira against the dollar, which impacted MTN Nigeria’s financials.
MTN did note that Nigeria posted a strong underlying operational performance in its first half. The Naira devaluation will affect MTN’s results by 90c a share, up from the 4c it reported in the prior comparative period.
The mobile company was also hit by the translation impact on its reporting currency of rand from others across its African operations due to the devaluation of most local currencies, as well as operational challenges in Sudan due to the ongoing conflict in the country.
MTN added that its fintech platform sustained its positive trajectory in its revenue growth and ecosystem expansion. “We have also been encouraged by the progress in cash-upstreaming from the markets, including Nigeria,” MTN stated.
“As previously communicated to MTN shareholders, the group continues to progress initiatives to mitigate the negative effects of the macro-environment on the business,” it said.
The mobile operator added it had wrapped up the sale of its small West African subsidiary Spacetel Guinea-Bissau to Telecel Group Mobile, as regulatory approvals have been achieved.
“The disposal is in line with the group’s strategic priority to accelerate portfolio transformation. MTN has taken steps to ensure a seamless transfer of ownership, which the group believes is in the best interests of MTN Guinea-Bissau, its stakeholders and the sector in Guinea-Bissau at large,” it said.
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