MOBILE subscribers of MTN Nigeria declined by 10.6 per cent to 68.5 million in 2021, from 76.5 million in 2020, representing a loss of eight million subscribers.
This is according to the telecommunication firm’s audited report for the full year ended December 31, 2021, obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).
The report reveals that active data subscribers grew 5.3 per cent in the same period to 34.3m active subscribers in 2021, from 32.6m in 2020.
In terms of revenue, the telco giant recorded N1.65 trillion for the year ended 2021, compared to N1.34 trillion obtained in the previous year.
The firm’s voice revenue grew by 8.4 per cent to N971.44 billion in 2021, from N895.97 billion in 2020.
Similarly, the data revenue grew by 55.3 per cent to N516.14bn, from N332.4bn in 2020.
Its profit after taxation jumped 45.5 per cent to N298.65bn in 2021, from N205.21bn in the corresponding period.
In the report, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Karl Toriola described MTN performance in the past year as ‘quite significant.’
Toriola said, “We commemorated our 20th anniversary with a celebration of our customers and all the stakeholder relationships that enabled our journey. In addition, we made good progress towards our ambition 2025 objectives, demonstrating the strength and resilience of the business.
“During the year, our total contribution to the Government through direct and indirect taxes was N669.2bn, up 83.4 per cent, representing approximately 40 per cent of our total revenue. We extended our interventions, in response to the challenges to our nation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a further N1.5bn to the Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACOVID) in support of efforts aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.”
He attributed the growth in data subscribers to the acquisition of an additional 800MHz spectrum and the accelerated roll-out of its 4G network, covering more than 70 per cent of the population.
He said that the acquisition of a 100MHz spectrum licence in the 3.5GHz band would serve in the roll-out of its 5G services.
He noted that the number of active users of the MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB) had grown well over 9.4m, and outlined the board’s decision to pay a final dividend of N8.57 kobo per share from distributable net income to shareholders.
Last month, the firm revealed that the telecom ban in some locations in the nation had slightly affected some of the company’s business activities, which consequently affected its overall subscriber numbers.
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