MTN Nigeria Communications Plc made N1.80tn from voice and data in 2022 according to the firm’s audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022.
This is a 20.79 per cent increase from the N1.49tn the firm made from the same revenue source in 2021. Overall, the firm’s total revenue increased by 21.64 per cent from N1.65tn as of December 2021 to N2.01tn as of December 2022.
According to the firm, its mobile subscriber base grew by 7.2 million in 2022, and active data subscribers grew by 5.2 million. The firm also described that 2022 was challenging because of global macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility.
Commenting on the result, MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said, “2022 was challenging due to global macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, resulting in higher inflation, supply chain uncertainties, foreign exchange volatility and availability.
“In Nigeria, Inflation reached a 17-year high of 21.5% in November before moderating slightly to 21.3 per cent in December, bringing the average for the year to 18.8 per cent and putting pressure on consumer spending.”
He added, “Voice revenue maintained a steady recovery as more customers were reactivated and gross connections ramped up. This was backed by our customer value management initiatives through which we managed churn and drove increased usage from the existing base.
“As a result, voice revenue rose by 6.8 per cent, bucking the slower growth trend of general voice traffic as data traffic continues to increase.
“Data revenue rose by 46.9 per cent on the sustained growth of our active data users and increased data usage. This was supported by our 4G network expansion drive and enhanced quality and capacity of the network to support the rising data traffic. Our 4G network now covers 79.1 per cent of the population, up from 70.3 per cent in December 2021.
“Data traffic rose by 66.6 per cent, of which 79.5% was carried on the 4G network. Usage (MB per user) grew by 47.4 per cent.”
Commenting on the firm’s growth, Cordros Research, stated that the firm’s overall earnings underperformed expectations.
It predicted that in 2023, the firm will sustain growth in its revenue base. In an email to its clients, it said, “MTNN’s 2022FY performance was impressive, though the overall earnings outturn underperformed relative to our expectations (2022E: +42.2 per cent y/y), with the variance stemming from the significant cost pressures in the year.
“Consequently, we are concerned about the low EBITDA margin the firm recorded during the period. For 2023FY, we expect sustained growth in the telco’s overall revenue, driven by the firm’s continuous ramp-up of gross connections and implementation of NIN recovery initiatives, which we believe will be accretive to subscriber base growth.”
