Latest news with #MTNNigeria
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Internet usage in Nigeria dips as tariff cost spikes
Nigeria's telecommunications sector has faced its fair share of complications over the last year. From loss projections to tariff hikes, the country's economic challenges appear to be creating a ripple effect. The Nigerian telecommunications sector has endured economic challenges, prompting tariff increases and impacting data usage. Internet utilization fell from January to April 2025, attributed to a 50% hike in data tariffs instituted in February. Telecommunication companies like MTN Nigeria reported solid revenue growth despite reduced data consumption among citizens. According to recent data given by the Nigerian Communications Commission, total internet usage decreased from 1,000,930.60 terabytes in January to 983,283.43 terabytes in April, marking a 1.76 percent fall over the three months. The dip in data usage is a result of the NCC's decision to increase data tariffs by 50%. Some of the rough estimates show that under the revised pricing, the 1.8GB monthly plan now costs ₦1,500, replacing the previous 1.5GB plan that was priced at ₦1,000. The 20GB plan has increased to ₦7,500 from ₦5,500, while the 15GB plan now costs ₦6,500, up from ₦4,500. Larger data bundles have seen even steeper increases. The 90-day 1.5TB plan has jumped from ₦150,000 to ₦240,000, while the 600GB 90-day plan has risen from ₦75,000 to ₦120,000. These price jumps, since it was implemented back in February, have resulted in less data usage as Nigerians struggle with an economy that has triggered inflationary pressures across multiple sectors. This dip in usage is also notwithstanding the fact that in April, the top telecommunications company in the country, MTN Nigeria, recorded revenue of N1 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 40.5% year-on-year increase from the N752.9 billion posted in Q1 2024. Data analyzed, as seen in the Punch, month-over-month, reveals a dramatic decline in utilization just after the fee was implemented. The amount of internet usage in February was 893,054.80 terabytes, which was 10.8% less than in January. March's figures rebounded to 995,876.10 terabytes, while in April, data usage dropped by 12,592.67 terabytes. Major telecom operators in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, and 9Mobile, have long lobbied for price modifications to reflect economic reality. Despite rising operating expenses caused by inflation, telecom companies have been unable to raise prices for more than a decade. This, however, has not sat well with the country's general populace as they continue to suffer one of the country's worst economic hits, using the same inflationary concerns the telecom industry alluded to. By the end of 2024, when the conversations on tariff hikes were heating up, the country's inflation rate had climbed to 32.47%, from the 29.90% levels it began the year with. At the time, reports indicated that telecommunications operators could face a $11.3 billion revenue loss between 2022 and 2026, resulting from a delay in the tariff hikes, which had persisted for 11 years. In 2022, telecom firms had demanded a 40% tariff increase.
Zawya
13-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa's MTN Group reports 33% rise in Q1 core profit
South Africa's MTN Group, on Monday, reported a 33% jump in first-quarter core profit due to strong service revenue growth, lower device cost of sales in its domestic market and a more stable macroeconomic environment. Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 33% on a constant-currency basis in the first quarter ended 31 March, and reflects a 5.3 percentage point increase in margin to 44.1%, MTN said, without giving the value of EBITDA. Group service revenue increased 10.4% overall in the quarter, or by 19.8% in constant currency. That was buoyed by 40.4% growth in MTN Nigeria and 39.5% in MTN Ghana. MTN South Africa continued to navigate competitive challenges, most notably in the prepaid segment, with service revenue up by 2.6%. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
South Africa's MTN Group reports 33% rise in Q1 core profit
JOHANNESBURG, May 12 (Reuters) - South Africa's MTN Group (MTNJ.J), opens new tab, on Monday, reported a 33% jump in first-quarter core profit due to strong service revenue growth, lower device cost of sales in its domestic market and a more stable macroeconomic environment. Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 33% on a constant-currency basis in the first quarter ended March 31, and reflects a 5.3 percentage point increase in margin to 44.1%, MTN said, without giving the value of EBITDA. Group service revenue increased 10.4% overall in the quarter, or by 19.8% in constant currency. That was buoyed by 40.4% growth in MTN Nigeria ( opens new tab and 39.5% in MTN Ghana. MTN South Africa continued to navigate competitive challenges, most notably in the prepaid segment, with service revenue up by 2.6%.
Daily Maverick
04-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Diamonds or dust: MTN soars as Gemfields struggles in Africa's high-risk game
MTN and Gemfields highlight Africa's duality: thrilling growth and unpredictable risk. MTN is thriving amid economic stabilisation, with standout results in Ghana and Nigeria. Gemfields, meanwhile, battles unrest, tax shocks, and plunging gemstone prices. For investors, Africa remains a high-stakes bet—rewarding for some, punishing for others. Resilience is essential. MTN: Time for Africa? MTN's share price bounces all over the place, mainly because the group is so heavily exposed to African economies, which can produce some pretty spectacular levels of volatility. Inflation rates can be eyewatering, currencies can lose much of their value in just one year, and of course, there's always the risk of conflict or 'democratic' processes that leave much to be desired. And even if all of those corporate bullets are dodged, there's the risk of attempted tax grabs by African governments, often in the form of surprise changes to legislation or just outright attempts to bully companies into paying more tax. And yet, the opportunity to do well is there. For those with strong stomachs and a healthy dose of risk appetite, Africa offers exciting markets. This volatility is why the narrative around MTN can change faster than Cape Town's weather. Last year, the African economies were a mess and the forex losses were vast, particularly in MTN Nigeria. MTN even had to delay the maturity of the MTN Zakhele Futhi B-BBEE scheme, such was the depressed nature of the MTN share price. Fast forward to May 2025 and the MTN share price is up 32.5% year-to-date. The market is feeling far better about this story, mainly because the African economies have managed to find some stability at a time when the world's developed markets are having a wobbly. MTN Ghana kicked things off in the past week, where service revenue growth of 39.6% was well ahead of inflation at 22.4%. The EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax and depreciation) margin expanded by 220 basis points to 58.1%, which drove an increase in EBITDA itself of 45%. High inflation rates aren't a problem when you see growth like this, as the company is delivering real growth – literally, growth in excess of inflation. With Ghana having abolished the e-levy tax on mobile money transactions with effect from 2 April 2025, the great news is that even the government seems to be taking a pro-growth stance these days. Long may it last! The results from Ghana were the perfect hors d'oeuvre, with MTN Nigeria as the main course. Nigeria is the business that makes or breaks the group story – and in this case, there's great news to share. Inflation was 24.2% and service revenue growth was 40.5%, so that's a very similar result to what we saw in Ghana. The big difference is that the currency stabilised against the US dollar this quarter, which took MTN Nigeria from a terrible net loss of N392.7-billion (about R4.5-billion) in the comparable period to a profit of N133.7-billion (about R1.5-billion) in this period. And it's not just a currency story either, evidenced by a metric like EBITDA margin improving by a meaty 720 basis points to 46.6%. There's a real opportunity here for MTN Nigeria to continue making improvements to the balance sheet, provided that the currency continues to play ball. When we combine the MTN news with the recent update from Standard Bank that reflected 10% earnings growth in the first quarter, with Africa as a meaningful contributor, it looks like 2025 could be a far stronger year for the continent. We just need the current trajectory to continue. Rubies are red, emeralds are green – and auction prices are confusing Of course, happier times for MTN and consistently good results for Standard Bank don't mean that every business in Africa is doing well. It all comes down to the underlying exposure and business model. The regional trajectory is just a useful tailwind for many businesses. A perfect example is Gemfields, the company that mines rubies in Mozambique and emeralds in Zambia. It has had to navigate unrest and outright conflict in Mozambique, as well as the sudden introduction (and then removal) of a tax in Zambia. In fact, Gemfields is a great way to play Africa Risk Bingo. If that wasn't bad enough, it has had to face these risks at the worst possible time. The combination of an extensive capex programme alongside a worsening market for the precious stones was just too much for the balance sheet to deal with, leading to the company having to tap shareholders for capital in a rights offer. Now, the obvious way to track whether there's any improvement for Gemfields would be to look at auction results. The challenge is that rubies and emeralds are naturally occurring products of varying sizes and grades, which means that no two auctions are alike in terms of the mix of products being offered. Still, the latest auction results appear to be at prices per carat that are way below previous auctions. Either there has been a material change in the mix of stones on auction, or market prices have nosedived. Given the broader difficulties in this space, it seems possible that the truth is a combination of the two. For example, a recent mini-auction of rubies achieved just $39.47/carat, which is minimal compared to the preceding recent auctions at Gemfields that ranged from $154.84/carat to $321.94/carat. Similarly, an emeralds auction achieved only $6.97/carat, which is way off the recent results of $15.90/carat to $167.51/carat. The corporate narrative around the auction's results is one of renewed optimism. I would just feel more confident in sharing that optimism if the numbers made more sense. Gemfields is certainly one to keep an eye on this year. DM
Zawya
02-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Nigerian Business and Civil-Society Leader Tapped to Head Afrobarometer's Governing Board
Nigerian business and civil-society leader Amina Oyagbola will take the helm at Afrobarometer ( succeeding co-founder E. Gyimah-Boadi as chair of the board of directors effective April 2025, the research organisation announced Friday. Oyagbola is an independent director and business management consultant with more than 35 years of experience in legal practice and business management in corporate Nigeria, including as a former human resources and corporate services executive at MTN Nigeria. Her career spans human resources strategy and transformation, legal consulting, women's empowerment, banking and finance, oil and gas, and telecommunications. She is the managing consultant at AKMS Consulting Ltd., a senior partner of Oyagbola Chambers, and a Chevening Scholar. She is a passionate advocate for gender equality and the founder of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a not-for-profit gender-empowerment and strategic mentoring and leadership initiative. 'I am deeply honoured and excited to serve as Afrobarometer's board chair. Afrobarometer has been a trailblazer in amplifying the voices of Africans through high-quality research and data, and I look forward to contributing to its continued growth and mission to make citizen voice a key pillar of African policy and decision making,' said Oyagbola, who joined the Afrobarometer board in 2019. 'I am excited about expanding Afrobarometer's impact and ensuring that our data continues to shape policies that truly reflect the priorities of African citizens. 'The world is changing rapidly – technology, youth engagement, economic transformation – and Afrobarometer is uniquely positioned to provide the insights needed to navigate these changes.' Oyagbola takes over from Gyimah-Boadi, who co-founded Afrobarometer in 1999 and served as its chief executive from 2008 to 2021 and is term-limited after four years as board chair. 'It has been both a pleasure and an honour to work closely with Amina Oyagbola since she joined Afrobarometer's board in 2019,' Gyimah-Boadi said. 'She established her indispensability to the effective functioning of the board right from the beginning of her tenure, especially in the areas of board corporate governance and human resource development. I'm indeed happy to be handing over the AB board leadership to someone with the right blend of expertise, depth of passion for our mission, and breadth of strategic connections.' Afrobarometer Chief Executive Officer Joseph Asunka highlighted Gyimah-Boadi's quarter-century of unparalleled commitment to research excellence and democratic development and said the new board chair embodies the values of inclusion and progress that Afrobarometer seeks to promote across the continent. 'Gyimah's vision and leadership have been the foundation of Afrobarometer's successes,' Asunka said. 'We are assured that Amina will bring her exceptional experience, expertise, and passion to lead us into an exciting new chapter.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afrobarometer. For more information, please contact: Josephine Sanny Director of communications Email: jappiah@ Telephone: +233243240933 Social Media: Facebook X LinkedIn YouTube Instagram WhatsApp Bluesky Visit us online at Follow our releases on #VoicesAfrica. About Afrobarometer: Afrobarometer (AB) is a trusted source of high-quality data and analysis on what Africans are thinking. With an unmatched track record of 400,000+ interviews in 42 countries, representing the views of more than three-fourths of the African population, AB is leading the charge to bridge the continent's data gap. AB data inform many global indices, such as the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer, and the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators. The data are also used for country risk analyses and by credit rating and forecasting agencies such as the Economist Intelligence Unit. All AB data sets are publicly available on the AB website and may be analysed free of charge using AB's online data analysis tool.
