MTN Nigeria, one of the country’s largest telecommunications providers, faced a turbulent 2024, recording a staggering $259 million loss after tax despite growth in its fintech and digital services sectors.
The company’s financial results, released this week, revealed the heavy toll of Nigeria’s economic instability, including record inflation and a sharp devaluation of the naira, which inflated operational costs and triggered foreign exchange losses of nearly $600 million.
The decline of its mobile money arm, MoMo PSB, became a focal point. Active wallet users plummeted by 47% year-on-year to 2.8 million, a drop the company attributed to a deliberate strategy to prioritize “higher-quality” users and streamline operations. Paradoxically, transaction volumes on the platform inched up by 4.3%, suggesting that remaining customers are engaging more deeply with services like airtime lending, which drove a 23.2% surge in annual fintech revenue.
Digital services emerged as a bright spot, with revenue nearly doubling (95.2% growth) and monthly active users climbing to 9.8 million. These gains, however, were overshadowed by macroeconomic pressures. Soaring inflation, which peaked at 28.9% in December 2023 and remained volatile through 2024, strained consumer spending power and raised operating costs for the telecom giant. Meanwhile, the naira’s steep devaluation—part of government reforms to stabilize the economy—worsened MTN’s foreign debt obligations and supply chain expenses.
Analysts note that MTN’s struggles reflect broader challenges in Nigeria’s corporate landscape, where even thriving business units can’t fully offset currency shocks. The company’s revenue grew by 35.9% to $2.14 billion, but this was insufficient to counterbalance the financial headwinds.
Looking ahead, MTN Nigeria remains cautiously optimistic. Recent tariff hikes, approved by regulators to help telecom firms manage rising costs, are projected to boost 2025 revenue by at least 40%. Executives also aim to restore a positive net asset position next year, banking on increased capital expenditure to modernize infrastructure and retain customers. Yet the path to recovery remains fraught, hinging on Nigeria’s ability to curb inflation and stabilize its currency—a tall order for a nation still grappling with economic reforms.
The story of MTN Nigeria in 2024 underscores a harsh reality: in emerging markets, corporate success often hinges as much on navigating macroeconomic storms as on delivering innovative services. For now, stakeholders are left weighing the promise of fintech growth against the unpredictability of exchange rates and the spending power of everyday Nigerians.
