MTN Nigeria Sets to Issue Two Series of Commercial Papers Worth N52.896 Billion

MTN Nigeria revealed that it is set to issue two series of commercial papers worth N52.895 billion. The telecommunication giant submitted a corporate notice with the NGX where it announced the Series 8 and 9 commercial paper notes under its N250 billion Commercial Paper Issuance Programme. 

The issuance submitted by the telecom giant aims to create diverse financing options and meet short-term capital and funding requirements. The notice submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited was signed by MTN Nigeria Secretary, Uto Ukpanah.

She said,

• The issuance is part of the company’s strategy to diversify its financing options, with the funds being deployed towards short-term working capital and funding requirements.

She also promised to give more information to the public soon.

Speaking on the issuance of the two series of commercial papers worth N52.895 billion, MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Karl Toriola, thanked investors, saying their support made the development possible.

He said,

• We are grateful for the success of this transaction, which demonstrates investor confidence in the performance and management of MTN Nigeria. The market terrain is changing, and managing our funding costs is a key focus.  

• The transaction was concluded in record time, and this could not have been possible without the unwavering support of our advisers and the investor community.

In the past month, MTN Nigeria was able to raise N125 billion through the issuance of commercial papers series 6 and 7. At first, the firm sought to raise N100 billion but recorded a 146% subscription rate, raising N125 billion across both series.

The series had an 181-day commercial paper at a yield of 13% and a 265-day CP at a yield of 13.50%. It was in the first nine months of 2023 that MTN Nigeria recorded a 21.8% growth in revenue and saw an increase of 2 million subscribers, making it maintain its position as Nigeria’s biggest telecommunications industry by market size. As of September 2023, the total subscribers of the company reached 77.6 million.

MTN Nigeria’s First Nine Months of 2023

MTN Nigeria's records for the first nine months of 2023 have shown impressive financial growth. It was reported in its financial results for the months that ended on September 30, 2023, where the firm reported a substantial growth of 28.1% in the first nine months of 2023 despite the country’s unwavering macroeconomic challenges that have led to the devaluation of the naira and inflation.

In the report, it was revealed that the telecom giant issued its N250 billion commercial paper programme twice this year. The first issuance was done in March, while the second was done in August. In September 2023, N52 billion was recovered, with the remaining tranches maturing in November 2023 (N72 billion) at 12.5%, February 2024 (N52 billion) at 13%, and May 2024 (N72 billion) at 13.5%, according to Technext report.

The company's net finance cost rose by 174.4% to N375.95bn. Under the review, it was documented that the firm witnessed an addition of 2 million new users in the first nine months of 2023, which resulted in a total of N77.6 million mobile subscribers. According to the financial report, the firm’s profit before tax declined by 42%, settling at  N232.46bn. Earnings per share declined by 45.2%, settling at N7.06kobo.

MTN Nigeria also reported 3.6 million active data users in the first nine months of 2023, as the total data traffic increased by 46.3% and data usage (GB per user) grew by 29.1%.