MTN Group projects significant decline in full-year HEPS, cites forex losses
By Ralph Tathagata
As the telecom giant gears up to publish its annual results on 17 March, 2025, the MTN Group has hinted ahead that it’s going to record a significant decline in full-year Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS) report. According to the group, HEPS for the year ended 31 December 2024 will fall by between 59% and 79%, while earnings per share will decline by more than 100%.
Attributing the sharp decline to non-operational items of some -R7.18/share, including hyperinflation adjustments of -16c (2023: -R1.50); forex losses of -R5.98, which includes Nigerian naira depreciation impact of -R3.99 (2023: -R5.93); deferred tax charge of -58c (2023: nil); and other non-operational items, MTN, however, stated that it expects to report a “strong underlying performance” for the 2024 financial year when it publishes its full-year numbers next month.
“We are encouraged by the relative stability of some important key macroeconomic indicators in the second half of 2024, such as inflation and forex rates in some of our key markets. This provided some support to our performance in the period, and we anticipate reporting a pleasing positive momentum in H2 earnings, free cash flow and holding company leverage ratio,” the group said.
Despite recording losses in its Nigerian market operation, the group said the January 2025 approval of tariff adjustments by regulators in the country marked a important milestone in ensuring the long-term sustainability of its business.
“In our larger operations, we expect to report an improvement in the trajectory of MTN South Africa’s profitability, particularly in H2, as well as strong operational performances in MTN Nigeria, MTN Ghana and MTN Uganda.
“MTN Nigeria has started to implement the tariff adjustments, which represent an important step towards addressing the impacts of the prevailing economic challenges on the operation,” the group said.
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