MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has released its consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018. The company’s revenue grew by 17% when compared to 2017.
Revenue: MTN Nigeria‘s revenue grew from N887.1 billion in FY 2017 to N1 trillion in FY 2018, indicating a 17% increase year on year.
Operating Profit: The company’s operating profit grew by 36% to N266.1 billion in 2018, up from N195.9 billion in 2017.
Profit Before Tax: MTN Nigeria‘s PBT rose from N107.8 billion in 2017 to N221.3 billion in the year under review.
Profit After Tax: The network operator saw its PAT increase to N145.6 billion in 2018, up from N81.07 billion in 2017.
Interim Dividends: The Board of Directors approved interim dividends of N38.6 billion on March 6, 2018, and another N73 billion on the 11th of February 2019 for the year ended 31 December 2018.
Meanwhile, the company grew its spending on Advertisements, sponsorships and sales promotions to N16.2 billion, having spent N15.5 billion in 2017.
What you need to know: Nairametrics placed a HOLD recommendation on MTN Nigeria‘s shares, advising investors to exercise patience until more information is made available to the public regarding the investigation of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the company’s listing activities.
Also, the HOLD was also considered due to the court case filed against the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF), as progress report is needed to boost the confidence of shareholders and investors.
These two factors could drop MTN Nigeria‘s share price if negative reports emanate from them. Meanwhile, in line with Nairametrics BUY criteria, the stock is also unlikely to show any significant decline in the short to medium term.
SIM Registration Fine: MTN Nigeria will soon be paying the final tranche of the SIM registration fine imposed on the telecom giant in October 2015. The company is expected to pay the sum of N55 billion to the Federal Government today.
Note: MTN Nigeria now discloses full financial statements after listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on May 16, 2019. The company’s stock is currently trading at N136 on the NSE.
