By Dipo Olowookere
The new chief executive of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Mr Karl Toriola, has promised to deliver more value to shareholders of the company.
Mr Toriola, who officially assumed office on Monday, March 1, 2021, said he will achieve this goal by working closely with his team to offer better services to the company’s over 70 million customers in the country.
He expressed optimism that this would help improve the share price of the organisation on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Business Post reports that MTN Nigeria about 20.4 billion ordinary shares of 2 kobo on the NSE in May 2019 by introduction at N90 each. At the close of transactions yesterday, the stocks closed flat at N174 per unit.
But Mr Toriola believes the company’s equities should be trading higher than this and he is determined to drive the value higher for the benefits of investors.
Yesterday, he was honoured with the NSE digital closing gong and while reflecting on the responsibility on my shoulder, he said, “I am committed to leading MTN Nigeria to deliver on our responsibility to the over 70 million Nigerian customers that use our services to ensure they stay connected and can access increasing value and better services through our network; our role as a corporate citizen in the recovery and growth of the Nigerian economy; and our need to deliver value and drive share price for the good of our shareholders.”
He thanked the exchange “for offering me this distinguished honour of ringing the closing bell on the first day of my tenure as CEO of MTN Nigeria.”
Mr Toriola also expressed his gratitude to “the board, shareholders and staff of MTN Nigeria” for the privilege to lead what is the “largest corporate by revenue outside the oil industry and the second-largest corporate listed on the NSE as at today.”
On his part, the CEO of NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, congratulated Mr Toriola on his appointment as the CEO of MTN Nigeria, describing him as “a versatile leader who comes with vast knowledge and relevant experience spanning over 25 years, and we are delighted to host him on his first day on the job.”
“At the NSE, we continue to provide a platform to support our clients in meeting their strategic business objectives and we are pleased to see listed companies take full advantage of the NSE’s products and services.
“I, therefore, use this opportunity to invite MTN Nigeria Plc and other stakeholders to partner with The exchange across the various themes of capital formation, capacity building, sustainability, and many others,” Mr Onyema stated.
Adedapo Adesanya