MTN Communication Plc said it owes its capital providers N977.4bn in 2023 due to high interest rates and naira devaluation.
The telecom services provider which controls over 52% of the country’s market said the N977.4bn represents finance costs and net foreign exchange losses due to its capital providers. The telecom giant disclosed this in its sustainability report for 2023.
“Payment to capital providers, representing finance costs and net foreign exchange losses, was N977.4bn. The net foreign exchange losses arose from the significant devaluation of the Naira following the liberalisation of the foreign exchange management by the Central Bank of Nigeria”, MTN said.
The company said payments due to the government represent an income tax of N155.5bn and a deferred tax of N196.4bn which is as a result of the adjustment for foreign exchange losses.
The company said this resulted in a net tax credit of N40.9bn.
“During the year, we faced significant headwinds that affected our operations. However, we remained committed to investing in our network with a disciplined focus on value-based capital allocation and efficiencies”, the company revealed.
MTN Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said the company has contributed immensely to the growth of the Nigerian economy despite headwinds.
“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far expanding connectivity to 79.7 million people, achieving 92.9% nationwide coverage, investing N2.6bn in Corporate Social Investment programmes that have impacted over 58,000 lives through the MTN Foundation, contributing N549.3 billion in taxes and levies to the government, and investing over N571bn in capex, up 13.2% in 2023″, he said.
