MTN Group said on Thursday it expects its issues with Nigerian authorities to be resolved soon.

The suspension of regulatory services in Nigeria has so far led to a more than 50% decline in its earnings.

MTN Group reported a 51.4% plunge in headline earnings per share (HEPS) to 746c for the year to December 31 2015 compared with the year-earlier period. Revenue was flat due to a decline in voice revenue in Nigeria and a reduction in handset revenue in SA, the company said.

“Following the resumption of regulatory services we would anticipate an improved operational performance in 2016. MTN Nigeria continues engaging with the Nigerian authorities in an attempt to ensure an amicable resolution. The fine imposed on MTN Nigeria and the related process continues to receive extensive attention from the group board,” the company said.

The group declared a final dividend of 830c per share.

In SA, MTN said it had delivered encouraging results.

“A strong focus on customer experience, competitive offerings, aggressive network roll-out and employee engagement resulted in a successful turnaround in the second half of the year. The operation increased its subscriber base by 9.3% to surpass 30-million customers.”

MTN expects the economic climate in Nigeria to remain challenging. The group said the positive trend evident in its South African operations during the second half of its 2015 financial year was likely to continue.

“While the group operates across 22 countries, the earnings remain highly concentrated in a few markets, with the associated volatility and risks as evident over the past few years. To this end, management will continue to explore opportunities to address this over the medium term,” it said. (Business DAY, South Africa)

Update news