Economy

MTN Rakes in N947bn Revenue as PAT Grows 28% to N181.6bn

Published

3 years ago

31/07/2022

By Adedapo Adesanya

MTN Nigeria has recorded a 28.1 per cent rise in profit after tax (PAT) to N181.6 billion in the first half of the year, with profit before tax (PBT) up by 24.9 per cent to N268.6 billion and earnings per share (EPS) rising by 28.1 per cent to N8.92.

According to the company in its unaudited results for the half-year ended June 30, 2022, the capital expenditure (Capex) rose by 67.1 per cent to N311.6 billion (up 78.6 per cent to N204.5 billion, excluding the right of use assets.

The financial statements also showed that there were a lot of increases led by active fintech subscribers which rose by 87.3 per cent to 11.5 million, driven by MoMo wallets since launching the payment service bank on May 19, 2022.

Active data users increased by 13.2 per cent to 36.8 million as it added 2.5 million active users in H1 2022 while mobile subscribers increased by 7.6 per cent to 74.1 million, indicating a growth of 5.7 million subscribers in the period.

Others include an increase in service revenue by 19.9 per cent to N947.9 billion; as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 22.1 per cent to N509.3 billion; while EBITDA margin increased by 0.9 percentage points (pp) to 53.6 per cent.

The telco’s interim dividend was pegged at N5.60 per share, up by 23.1 per cent.

MTN’s operating expenses (opex) in the first six months of the year increased by 15.1 per cent due to the effects of Naira depreciation and higher Dollar consumer price index (CPI) on lease rental costs.

The firm also blamed the rising energy costs in the West African nation as part of the reasons for its increased expenses.

Similarly, its cost of sales went up by 22.9 per cent as the firm spent N162bn in the first six months of 2022, compared to N132bn spent in the corresponding period.

In the report, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Karl Toriola, said the company saved costs via its expense efficiency programme.

“We continue to realize cost savings through our expense efficiency programme, and we remain disciplined with capital allocation. Cost of sales rose by 22.9 per cent off a low base in the prior year, which was depressed by the suspension of new Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) sales and activations by the regulator, lower device purchases during the period, and the impact of growing gross connections in the current year.

“Operating expenses (opex) increased by 15.1 per cent due to the effects of naira depreciation and higher dollar CPI on lease rental costs, the acceleration in our site rollout and rising energy costs. The escalation of diesel prices in Nigeria contributed to the 12.2 per cent increase in direct network operating costs with a 0.3 per cent earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin impact,” he said.

MTN, in its outlook for the year, stressed that it has continued to witness strong headwinds such as rising general inflation, paucity of foreign exchange, supply chain disruptions, and higher diesel and petrol prices, which it said placed more financial pressure on its customers, as well as its business.

It, however, looked forward to a surge in subscriber base in the third quarter of the year. The firm stated that the growth would be based on how well it regains subscribers lost to the National Identity Numbers (NIN) enrolment.

The telco planned to commence the rollout of 5G services in all of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones from the third quarter (Q3) of 2022.

Economy

Food Concepts Return NASD OTC Exchange to Danger Zone

Published

1 hour ago

05/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.

Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.

This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.

Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.

Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.

At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.

Economy

Investors Gain N97bn from Local Equity Market

Published

2 hours ago

05/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.

This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.

UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.

On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.

Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.

Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.

A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.

This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.

For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.

Economy

Naira Loses 18 Kobo Against Dollar at Official Market, N5 at Black Market

Published

2 hours ago

05/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.

At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.

It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.

Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.

Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.

Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.

“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.

Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.

Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.

If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.

Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.