By 
By Osasómé C.O
MTN Group has released its initial trading statement for the six months ended 30 June 2024, highlighting key developments and financial performance.
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The pan-African telecom giant confirmed the successful sale of its West African subsidiary, Spacetel Guinea-Bissau S.A. (MTN Guinea-Bissau), following the completion of all regulatory approvals.
Additionally, MTN Nigeria has renegotiated its tower lease agreements with IHS and ATC, aligning with the Group’s strategy to streamline and optimize its portfolio.
MTN Group focusing on its core markets
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita emphasized that these moves are part of the company’s broader effort to restructure and focus on its core markets. The Group expects to report resilient underlying performance, with notable momentum in key regions.
MTN Ghana and MTN Uganda have already reported strong results for the first half of 2024, while MTN South Africa is expected to show encouraging progress in critical areas of its business.
The Group’s fintech platform also continued its robust revenue growth and ecosystem expansion.
H1 2024 financial results adversely affected by macroeconomic factors
However, MTN Group’s H1 2024 financial results were adversely affected by several macroeconomic factors. The devaluation of the Nigerian naira against the US dollar, along with the translation impact of local currencies against the South African rand, particularly the naira, has negatively impacted the Group’s financials.
Additionally, ongoing conflict in Sudan has posed operational challenges, further affecting results.
The Group’s financial performance was also impacted by higher operating and net finance costs in MTN Nigeria, driven by the naira devaluation, and foreign exchange losses, which are estimated to reduce the Group’s results by 90 cents and 389 cents, respectively.
Other subsidiaries, including MTN Ghana and MTN South Sudan, also faced currency translation impacts, contributing to an estimated reduction of 310 cents in the Group’s H1 2024 results.
Despite these challenges, MTN Group remains focused on mitigating the adverse effects of the macroeconomic environment and continues to make progress in its strategic initiatives.
