MTN earnings to be hit by once-off costs

MTN Group said on Friday that its headline earnings per share (Heps) will rise by between 25% and 35% in the year to 31 December 2021, though this figure will have been higher if not for once-off items.

Earnings per share (EPS), meanwhile, are expected fall by between 15% and 25%, MTN said.

EPS includes impairment losses of about 64c that relate mainly to MTN Yemen, largely non-cash losses from the deconsolidation of subsidiary MTN Syria of R2.62/share, and fair-value gains on acquisition or disposal of assets totalling 99c.

Included in Heps are the negative impacts of several non-operational and once-off items with a net total of about R1.23. These include items relating to hyperinflation excluding impairments (42c); foreign exchange losses (R1.11); other non-operational items (30c); and donations related to Covid-19 support for the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the Coalition Against Covid task force in Nigeria (24c).

MTN, whose share price has surged 158% in the past 12 months, is expected to report full-year results on 9 March.  – © 2022 NewsCentral Media

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