MTN Slumps After Reporting First-Ever Loss on Nigeria Fine
- S. African wireless carrier hurt by $1 billion payout
- Two biggest MTN markets also hit by weak economy, demand
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MTN Group Ltd. suffered its first-ever loss last year after the fallout from a $1 billion fine in Nigeria was compounded by slack earnings in its biggest markets.
The Nigerian regulatory penalty chopped 4.74 rand from full-year earnings per share, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. Regulators also forced MTN to disconnect millions of customers in Nigeria, hurting results in its biggest market, and performance was weak in South Africa as well. Together, those factors wiped out all of MTN’s 2016 earnings, after the company reported profit of 7.46 rand per share in 2015.