By Modupe Gbadeyanka
MTN Group has disclosed that it expects to report a full-year loss due to a $1 billion regulatory fine in Nigeria and for under-performance both in Nigeria and South Africa.
The company made this known on Wednesday and said the net effect of the Nigerian fine for the year ended December was a negative impact of 474 cents per share.
But MTN said it aims to list its Nigerian operations on the local bourse during 2017, subject to market conditions.
In June 2016, MTN agreed to pay Nigeria a N330 billion ($1.05 billion at the time) fine for missing a deadline to cut off unregistered SIM cards from its network.
Shares in MTN, which fell more than 4 percent at market open, were 3.82 percent lower at 113.25 rand at 07:33am, its lowest level since December.
MTN is the largest mobile phone company in Nigeria, the continent’s biggest economy, and accounts for a third of MTN’s revenue.
MTN will issue a further trading statement on the likely range within which its headline loss is expected.
Underlying operational results for full-year 2016 were also affected by fees incurred for a planned listing in Nigeria.
The result also showed MTN under-performance of its units both in Nigeria and in South Africa in the first half of 2016.
However the unit has been battered by the weak economy, depreciation of the naira and the disconnection of 4.5 million subscribers in February 2016.
