Economy

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

Published

4 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

Tax Filing: NRS Offices to Operate Saturdays till June 27

Published

52 minutes ago

08/05/2026

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has announced that from Saturday, May 9, 2026, to Saturday, June 29, 2026, its offices across the country will operate at weekends.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Mr Zacch Adedeji, on Thursday, the organisation said this is in anticipation of a rush in filing of tax returns during this period.

It was disclosed that the offices would open their doors to taxpayers on Saturdays from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, urging taxpayers “to take advantage of this opportunity to resolve any tax- related matters, seek guidance, and ensure timely compliance with their obligations.”

The extended Saturday operations, according to the NRS, will provide additional assistance to taxpayers requiring support with the new system, facilitate seamless compliance during the June peak Companies Income Tax (CIT) filing period, and improve access to tax services outside regular weekday hours.

Recently, the tax agency launched a new tax administration platform known as Rev360. Taxpayers are still navigating their way around this initiative.

To provide additional support and service delivery to taxpayers on the rollout of the Rev360 Phase I Tax Administration System for medium and emerging taxpayers, NRS came up with the Saturday services.

In yesterday’s statement, the organisation said it remains dedicated to delivering efficient, transparent, and taxpayer-focused services.

Economy

FrieslandCampina Drives 0.21% Growth on NASD OTC Stock Exchange

Published

1 hour ago

08/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria influenced the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange to record its fourth consecutive growth this week by 0.21 per cent on Thursday, May 7.

The manufacturer of the popular Peak Milk and Three Crowns gained N10.26 during the session to quote at N127.06 per share compared with the previous day’s N116.80 per share.

This boosted the market capitalisation of the NASD OTC stock exchange by N5.26 billion to N2.459 trillion from N2.454 trillion, and raised the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 8.80 points to 4,110.38 points from Wednesday’s 4,101.58 points.

Business Post reports that the bourse recorded two price losers yesterday, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which dipped by N2.92 to N73.08 per unit from N76.00 per unit, and UBN Property Plc lost 3 Kobo to sell at N2.20 per share compared with midweek’s closing price of N2.23 per share.

On Thursday, the volume of securities transacted by investors fell by 26.4 per cent to 372,916 units from 506,651 units, the value of securities slid by 31.8 per cent to N30.6 million from N44.8 million, and the number of deals decreased by 27.0 per cent to 27 deals from 37 deals.

When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by CSCS Plc with 60.5 million units traded for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Strengthens to N1,355/$1 at Official Market, BTC Trades Below $80,000

Published

1 hour ago

08/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The positive performance of the Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) was extended on Thursday, May 7.

During the trading day, the Nigerian currency further improved against the greenback by N1.49 or 0.11 per cent to N1,355.85/$1 from the previous day’s N1,357.34/$1.

It was a similar situation for the Naira against the Pound Sterling in the official market. It gained N2.02 to trade at N1,845.18/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,847.20/£1, and against the Euro, it appreciated by N1.74 to sell for N1,593.26/€1, in contrast to midweek’s rate of N1,595.00/€1.

But at the black market, the domestic currency traded flat at N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it remained unchanged at N1,375/$1.

The local currency has gained weight in the past trading sessions as a result of improved forex liquidity, especially from foreign portfolio investors, exporters ‌and oil companies, amid moderate demand. Nigerian yields are still attractive for foreign investors, serving as a basis for more (FX) flows coming to Nigeria.

While continued confidence in the FX reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and improved liquidity conditions continue to support the Naira, the external reserves have been on a downward trend. Available data showed that it dropped $7.73 million, from $48.33 billion to $48.32 billion, as of May 6, 2026.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were largely pointing south due to renewed US-Iran tensions, but it remains higher on the week alongside mostly resilient global risk assets.

Funding rates for Bitcoin (BTC) futures have been negative for 67 straight days, creating a powerful setup for a potential short squeeze, with the digital coin losing 1.7 per cent to sell at $79,667.70.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 4.2 per cent to $0.1062, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 2.2 per cent to $2,279.71, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $1.38, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.7 per cent to $0.2619, Binance Coin (BNB) slid by 1.1 per cent to $639.32, and Solana (SOL) went down by 0.4 per cent to $88.22.

However, TRON (TRX) increased its value by 0.9 per cent to $0.3449, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.