Debt levels among Nigeria’s listed corporates showed mixed patterns in the first half of 2025.
Some companies aggressively expanded leverage to fund growth and operations, while others reduced borrowings in response to margin pressures and higher finance costs.
Nigeria’s corporate debt landscape in H1 2025 reveals a sharp divergence between aggressive borrowing by some firms and strategic deleveraging by others.
Total borrowings across key listed companies highlight both sectoral pressures and growth-driven capital deployment.
Oil and gas operators like Oando Plc and Seplat Energy Plc expanded their debt significantly to fund upstream projects and restructuring, while Dangote Cement maintained high leverage to support capacity expansion.
In contrast, consumer-facing giants like Nigerian Breweries and Nestlé Nigeria scaled back borrowings to preserve margins amid inflationary and foreign-exchange headwinds.
The debt ratios provide further insight: negative equity positions at Oando, Nestlé, and MTN Nigeria flag balance sheet risks despite strong or improving operating cash flows, while firms like BUA Cement, Transcorp, and Beta Plc display disciplined leverage and robust interest coverage.
This mix of aggressive borrowing, conservative funding strategies, and balance-sheet recalibration underscores the varied approaches Nigerian corporates are taking to navigate volatile macroeconomic conditions, high interest rates, and capital-intensive growth plans.
Below is a breakdown of each company’s debt position, growth trend, and structure.
MTN reduced its borrowings to N813.77 billion, down 13.93% YoY from N945.45 billion.
- Current debt: N317.91 billion
- Non-current debt: N495.86 billion
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc presents an unusual leverage profile driven by its negative equity position. As of H1 2025, the telecom giant reported total borrowings of N813.77 billion, backed by N257.58 billion in cash and cash equivalents, resulting in net debt of N556.19 billion.
Its debt-to-equity ratio of -19.17x and asset-to-equity ratio of -112.40x indicate that liabilities significantly outweigh shareholders’ funds, resulting in negative equity. This structural imbalance suggests that the company’s balance sheet is heavily debt-dependent, a situation not uncommon for telecom operators managing large infrastructure investments and foreign-exchange pressures. Its debt-to-capital ratio of 1.06x further underscores that debt dominates its capital structure.
Despite the negative equity, MTN’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.68x shows that its borrowings could be repaid in well under a year of operating earnings—a sign of robust cash flow generation. The interest coverage ratio of 3.19x indicates that MTN earns more than three times its annual interest obligations, reflecting operational strength and the ability to meet financing costs even under challenging conditions.
Overall, MTN Nigeria’s leverage profile reflects a strong earnings engine offset by a weak balance sheet. While its negative equity raises long-term structural concerns, the company’s solid cash flows and moderate debt burden provide short- to medium-term resilience, giving it room to manage refinancing and operational investments as it works to strengthen its capital base.
