MTN Nigeria announced a profit after tax of ₦51 billion in Q1 2020 – a 6% increase compared with Q1 2019. This increase was largely driven by revenue from data subscriptions, which rose to ₦74 billion – a 60% increase compared with Q1 2019. Revenue from data subscriptions is expected to further increase this quarter (Q2 2020) as workers in many parts of Nigeria are working remotely due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Revenue grew by 16.7% to N329bn from N282bn in the previous quarter.
Profit before tax grew by 8.9% to N76bn.
Profit after tax grew by 5.6% to N51bn.
Net Assets grew by 35.3% to N196bn from N145bn.
Service revenue rose by 16.7 percent year on year to NGN 328.5 billion, driven by voice and data revenue. Net profit increased by 5.6 percent to NGN 51.15 billion from NGN 48.44 billion in Q1 2019 and earnings per share increased by 5.6 percent to NGN 0.025.
EBITDA grew by 15.3 percent year on year to NGN 173.5 billion resulting in an EBITDA margin of 52.5 percent, an increase of 0.6 percentage points. Mobile subscribers increased by 4.2 million to 68.5 million, an increase of 7.4 percent. Active data users increased by 1.7 million to 26.8 million and data revenue grew by 59.2 percent. The performance was achieved against the backdrop of several developments during the quarter. Value-added tax (VAT) was increased in February from 5.0 percent to 7.5 percent, which adversely affected both revenue and costs.
MTN Nigeria said mobile subscribers increased by 4.2 million to 68.5 million, an increase of 7.4 percent.
MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, said data revenue increased by 59.2 percent due to growth in data traffic and the addition of 1.7 million active Internet subscribers to the network during the quarter.
The situation has been exacerbated by upheavals in the global oil market, which put significant downward pressure on oil prices, leading to an exchange rate adjustment by the Central Bank of Nigeria on 20 March, increasing some of the operator’s costs. In addition, a series of lockdown measures began being implemented globally in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in significant operational challenges and supply chain disruptions.
