Naira devaluation causing major impact on MTN finances

On Wednesday, MTN Group, Africa’s leading telecommunications company, announced it is set to record a half-year loss due to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira and operational challenges in Sudan.

The company’s financial performance has been heavily impacted by these issues, leading to an anticipated loss for the first half of the year.

With 288 million customers across 18 African markets, MTN projects that headline earnings per share (HEPS) will decline to a loss of between 217 and 271 cents for the six months ending June 30, compared to a profit of 542 cents in the same period last year.

MTN, headquartered in South Africa, noted that the naira’s devaluation against the U.S. dollar has increased operating and net finance costs for MTN Nigeria, its largest market. This is expected to reduce group results by 90 cents, with additional foreign exchange losses from the Nigerian unit estimated to cut a further 389 cents.

Additionally, the depreciation of local currencies will affect MTN’s results, reported in South African rand, while the conflict in Sudan has led to losses at its unit there.

Reuters reports that MTN will release its first-half results on August 19