MTN Group, the largest telecoms operator in Africa, on Monday, announced a significant 72.3% decline in annual profit due to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira, leading its main unit, MTN Nigeria, to incur losses.
MTN, headquartered in South Africa, reported that a decrease in its headline earnings per share to 315 cents for the year ending December 31, down from 1,137 cents the previous year, as per Reuters.
In June, the central bank of Nigeria implemented new foreign exchange regulations that resulted in a significant devaluation of the currency, causing the exchange rate to drop by around 96.7% to 907.1 naira per dollar by the end of December, according to MTN.
Earnings per share decreased by 9.5% to 1,203 cents.
MTN, operating in 19 African markets with 295 million customers, announced a final dividend of 330 cents per share while reporting a 6.9% increase in group service revenue to 210.1 billion rand ($11.09 billion).
