MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has announced that its profit before tax jumped by 54.01 per cent to N215.12 billion in the first half of this year, compared to the corresponding period in 2020.
The South African company also disclosed plans to connect about 1,000 rural communities to its network by the end of this year.
The telecom company in its half-year unaudited financial results ended June 30, 2021 said despite a reduction in its mobile subscriber base by 7.6 million to 68.9 million.
MTN said the regulatory restrictions on new SIM sales and activations by the Federal Government affected the growth of subscribers on its network.
It added that data subscribers rose by 12.10 per cent to 32.50 million and total revenue increased by 24.01 per cent to N791.26 billion in H1 2021.
The company reported a rise in voice revenue of 13.11 per cent, data subscription (48.29 per cent), digital sales (61.81 per cent), enterprise turnover (35.62 per cent), and fintech business (48.21 per cent) revenues.
Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose by 27.56 per cent to N417.21 per cent, with EBITDA margin put at 52.73 per cent.
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Th Board of Directors of the company approved an interim dividend of N4.55 kobo per share to be paid out of distributable net income, representing a growth of 30 per cent over N3.50 kobo per share paid in H1 2020.
Commenting on the report, the Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said the company made good progress by strengthening the resilience of the business and managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of the year.
Toriola said, “2021 marks the 20th anniversary of MTN’s presence in Nigeria. As we celebrate this milestone, we are pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has approved our participation in the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit (RITC) Scheme.
“We intend to participate in the restoration and refurbishment of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. Conversations in this regard have already commenced, and further announcements will be made in due course.
“Following MTN Group’s stated intention to sell down up to 14% of its investment in MTN Nigeria, subject to market conditions over the medium-term, MTN Nigeria’s shareholders approved an equity shelf programme at the last Annual General Meeting.
“As part of our rural connectivity programme, we plan to connect approximately 1,000 rural communities to our network this year with additional 2,000 communities in 2022.”
