MTN expects to report 35% to 45% higher earnings per share

MTN has informed shareholders to brace up for massive profits because it expects to report 35% to 45% higher earnings per share and 12% to 22% higher headline earnings per share than the previous year.

As reported by MyBroadBrand, the network operator stated it is finalizing its results for the year ending December 31, 2022. The JSE’s listing requirements stipulate that companies must unveil a trading statement when reasonably sure their financial results will differ by at least 20% from the prior year.

According to MTN, its earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be between R2.67 and R3.43 higher than its 2021 financial year. MTN highlighted that last year’s revenue consisted of a loss on the deconsolidation of a subsidiary of R2.62 per share and a fair value gain on the acquisition or disposal of R0.99 cents.

“These are both nil for the 2022 financial year,” MTN noted.

MTN’s Earnings Per Share does not consider impairment losses related to investments, goodwill, property, plant, and equipment of approximately -R0. 44 (2021: -R0.64); an impairment loss on remeasurement of disposal groups of -R0.70 (2021: -R0.02); a net gain on the disposal of SA towers of R0.22 (2021: nil); and the net profit on the removal of property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets of R0.09 cents (2021: R0.05 cents) (2021: R0.05 cents).

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In the report by MyBroadBrand, MTN expects its headline earnings per share (HEPS) to skyrocket by between R1.18 and R2.17. MTN stated HEPS was negatively affected by some non-operational and once-off items of approximately -R1.59 (2021: -R1.23). These include hyperinflation adjustments (R1.25), foreign exchange losses (-R1.81), an IFRS 2 charge arising from the MTN Ghana localization transaction (-R0.04), divestments (-R0.24), remeasurement of deferred tax assets (-R0.65), and other non-operational items (-R0.10). This is good news for MTN’s stakeholders.

MTN’s good run continues

On the 2nd of February 2023, MTN reported revenue above the N2 trillion mark for the 2022 year, during which turnover swelled by one-fifth and the bottom line by about the same rate. 

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This achievement, beyond doubt, places the company as Nigeria’s biggest public company by revenue, with turnover climbing 21.6 per cent to N2 trillion and service revenue contributing 99.7 per cent of that sum. Income sources, including data and digital services, saw appreciable growth, details of the report showed. The local unit of Johannesburg-based MTN Group signed up 7.2 million new subscribers in the year, translating to an expansion of 10.5 per cent and increasing its subscriber base to 75.6 million.

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“We continued to manage and invest in the resilience of our business and networks, expanding coverage and capacity with a focus on expense efficiencies and disciplined capital allocation,” CEO Karl Toriola said in a separate document accompanying the financials.

“We became the first mobile network operator to launch a 5G network in Nigeria, providing coverage in key cities in the six geopolitical regions. Since its commercial launch in September 2022, we have rolled out 588 sites and brought the 5G network to 5G-enabled smartphones, starting with iPhone users.”