Tag: MTN Nigeria Plc

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc announced that it has obtained an Approval-in-Principle (AIP) from the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to launch its proposed MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited. The approval is one of the foremost actions required to obtain a final approval from the apex banking authority, subject to the fulfillment of other stipulated conditions.

The announcement was made through a press release dated 5th of November 2021, acknowledged by the Company’s Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, and filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Excerpts of the recent press release reads: ‘’MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN Nigeria) as promoter, received an Approval in Principle (AIP) dated 4 November 2021 from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a licence application for the proposed MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited.’’

Recall that MTN Nigeria has never hidden its desire to become a full-fledged financial services bank. Two year ago, the telecommunications giant launched its mobile money transfer service called MoMo Agent Network. The launching was part of an ambitious move by the teleco to replicate in Nigeria, what Safaricom’s M-Pesa did in Kenya. The product launch is sequel to the obtaining of a super-agent license by the teleco to provide banking services.

Analysts believe that the entrance of MTN into the Nigerian financial services space will heighten competition especially with commercial banks and Fintechs. Nevertheless, the competition is necessary to drive financial inclusion through the provision of diverse and heterogeneous financial services to the unbanked population. Sharing this school of thought is the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osibanjo who recently charged commercial banks to allow other critical stakholders to partake in financial services. The number 2 man made the call during the recently concluded 2021 Banking and Finance Conference organized bu the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), themed ‘’Economic Recovery, Inclusion and Transformation: The Role of Banking and Finance.’’

Similarly, the teleco giant affirmed that the recent move is a demonstration of its commitment towards the financial inclusion agenda of the CBN and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and that it will continue to explore means whereby it can contribute to its fulfillment.

Nairametrics had earlier reported that 38 million Nigerian adults, translating to about 36% of the total adult population in the country, were financially excluded by the end of 2020. This figure falls short of the revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy targets, which projected a 20% exclusion rate for the period under review.

Meanwhile, recall that MTN Group yesterday announced that it is planning to sell about 575 million units of its shares in its Nigeria unit through a Public Offer.  Following the announcement, the share price of MTN Nigeria gained about 2.51% at the local bourse to close at N180 per share.

MTN Nigeria Plc has notified its shareholders, the investing public and other relevant stakeholders that it will be hosting a Board of Directors Meeting on Thursday, October 28, 2021.

This is according to a notice signed by the company’s secretary, Uto Ukpanah, and filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

According to the notice, the board meeting is scheduled to enable the Directors review and approve the company’s unaudited financial accounts for the nine months ending 30th of September, 2021.

In line with the post-listing requirements of the NGX, the company will be observing a closed period from October 1, 2021 until 24 hours after the financial results have been released to the NGX and made public. During the closed period, all insiders and their connected persons are prohibited from trading (i.e buying, selling, transferring or otherwise dealing) in the company’s shares.

For more information about the disclosure, click HERE.

GCR Ratings (GCR) has upgraded the national scale long-term Issuer rating of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc to AAA and affirmed the national scale short-term Issuer rating of A1+, with a stable outlook.

This is according to a notice made available on the website of the Nigerian Exchange Group Limited (NGX) and seen by Nairametrics.

According to the notice, the recently concluded N110 billion series 1 unsecured bond issued by the telecommunications giant, was also upgraded with a nation scale long-term rating of AAA and a stable outlook.

It is imperative to note that the rating is the highest possible long-term and short-term ratings on GCR’s national rating scale, and MTN Nigeria is the first mobile network operator in Africa to be accorded such ratings by GCR.

According to GCR: ‘’ The ratings accorded to MTN Nigeria Communications Plc reflects its very strong competitive position as the leading provider of telecommunication services in Nigeria, as well as its strong earnings and cash flow which has supported a robust financial profile.’’

GCR further noted that MTN Nigeria has progressively sustained its earnings, with a five-year CAGR of 14.1% to FY20. Similarly, Its EBITDA margin remained strong around 50%-53% in the recent period, trending above international peers.

In light of this, GCR expects MTN Nigeria to continue to maintain strong revenue growth given its growing infrastructure, and Nigeria’s favourable demographic. On the other hand, GCR expressed concerns over the continuous devaluation of the Naira, noting that it is capable of increasing pressure on the unhedged operating and capital costs, as a large component of spending relates to US Dollar denominated imports, impacting the earnings margins.

Meanwhile, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola opined that the recent ratings demonstrate the resilience of the telecommunications giant, he said: ‘’We are delighted with the outcome of the GCR rating. This demonstrates the resilience of our business and positions MTN Nigeria as the benchmark of reference for the information and communications technology sector for long-dated, fixed-term instruments. As we continue to invest in our network and strengthen our risk management processes, we remain focused on sustaining and accelerating growth in line with our Ambition 2025 strategy.’’

The Board of Directors of MTN Nigeria Plc has approved the payment of N120.09 billion to the shareholders of the company who currently hold the 20,354,513,050 fully paid ordinary shares of the company.

This disclosure is part of the resolutions passed at the recently concluded Annual General Meeting of the company, held on the 7th of June, 2021.

According to the notice: ‘’A dividend payment in the total sum of N120,091,626,955.00 (One hundred and twenty billion ninety one million six hundred and twenty six thousand nine hundred and ninety five Naira) which translates to N5.90Kobo per every 2 kobo ordinary share; to shareholders whose names appear in the Company’s Register of Members at the close of business on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 (bringing total dividend for the year ended 31^st December 2020 to N9.40), subject to withholding tax, be and is hereby approved.

Other resolutions reached at the Annual General Meeting include;

• The appointment of Ms. Tsholofelo Molefe, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, Messrs. Rhidwaan Gasant, Ralph Mupita and Jens Schulte-Bockum into the company’s Board were reviewed and approved.
• The remuneration of the Board Chairman for the year ending 31st Decemeber 2021, was fixed at N28,920,000/
• Non-Executive Directors fees for the year ending were pegged at N16,472,000.
• The firm was authorized to establish an Equity Shelf Programme for the purpose of facilitating offers for the sale of shares in the company by MTN International (Mauritius)

What you should know:

• MTN Nigeria Plc had earlier declared an all-time highest revenue  by a listed Nigerian entity for FY 2020

For more information about the disclosure, click HERE.