Africa's biggest telecom operator MTN Group (MTNJ.J) flagged on Friday an up to 80% fall in full-year profit, hit by the sharp devaluation in the Nigerian naira, which swung its biggest unit MTN Nigeria (MTNN.LG) to a loss.
The South Africa-headquartered MTN said its headline earnings per share - one of the main profit measures - would fall between 80% and 60% in the year ended Dec. 31 from 1,154 cents a year earlier.
MTN said the devaluation drove higher operating and net finance costs and foreign exchange losses for MTN Nigeria, which are expected to impact the group's financial performance.
"The foreign exchange losses in MTN Nigeria's financial are estimated to be 593 cents (from 52 cents in 2022) in the group results," the operator said.
In a separate statement, MTN Nigeria said as a result of the devaluation it reported a loss after tax of 137 billion naira (about $84.8 million) compared to a restated profit after tax of 348.7 billion naira in 2022.
($1 = 1,616.5500 naira)
