MTN posts record N2 trillion annual revenue, proposes N203.5 billion final dividend

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc reported revenue over the N2 trillion mark for 2022, a bumper year in which turnover increased by a fifth and the bottom line at the same rate, the audited income statement showed on Wednesday.

The achievement made the wireless operator Nigeria’s largest public company by revenue, with turnover rising 21.6 percent to N2 trillion and service revenue accounting for 99.7 percent of the amount.

Revenue sources, including data and digital services, saw considerable growth, details of the report showed.

The local unit is based in Johannesburg MTN Group entered 7.2 million new customers in the year under review translating into an expansion of 10.5 percent and increasing the customer base to 75.6 million.

“We continue to manage and invest in the resilience of our business and network, expanding our coverage and capacity with a focus on cost efficiency and disciplined capital allocation,” CEO Karl Toriola said in a separate document accompanying the financials.

“We are the first mobile network operator to launch a 5G network in Nigeria, providing coverage in major cities in six geopolitical regions. Since our commercial launch in September 2022, we have opened 588 sites and brought 5G networks to 5G-enabled smartphones, starting with iPhone users.

Financial income grew modestly to N13.8 billion from N11.9 billion, driven by interest income on bank deposits.

The telco last May launched its payments subsidiary MoMo PSB a month after getting regulatory approval to open the unit, and the latest report shows it has added 2 million active mobile money wallets since its launch until the end of December.

Active fintech customers more than halved to 14.9 million during the year.

Direct network operating costs, which rose by 18.1 percent to N459 billion, and financial costs, which rose by about a third, were the main pressure points for earnings.

Costs increased significantly, resulting in profit, which was 17.8 percent compared to the financial year 2021, while the net profit margin was 18.1 percent.

“As at December 31, 2022, the Group had trade receivables of N85.88 billion before credit losses of N13.65 billion,” independent auditor Ernst & Young said in its report.

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“The telecommunications industry continues to be affected by certain macroeconomic challenges that cause the Company to experience uncertainty regarding the collectability of some receivables from certain customers,” he added.

Pre-tax profit stood at N534 billion compared to N436.7 billion reported a year ago, while net profit rose 20.2 percent to N358.9 billion from N298.7 billion.

MTN Nigeria said in another regulatory filing that it will pay shareholders a final dividend per share of N10, summing up to a potential payout of N203.5 billion.

If the proposal gets shareholder approval, the total dividend payout for the year will be N317.5 billion (N15.60 per unit). That compares with N267.1 billion (N13.12 per share) a year earlier.

MTN Nigeria is the largest market of the MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, with total assets of N2.7 trillion at the end of December.