MTN Group, a leading telecommunications company based in South Africa, has announced that it anticipates a growth of 10% to 20% in earnings per share (EPS) for the first half of the year. Additionally, the company expects a rise in headline EPS of up to 10%.
For the first half, MTN Group projects EPS to range from 4.90 to 5.34 South African rand (28-30 U.S. cents), compared to ZAR4.45 in the same period last year. Moreover, they anticipate headline EPS to be between ZAR5.06 and ZAR5.57, as opposed to ZAR5.06 from the previous year.
During this period, MTN reported that its EPS was impacted by impairment losses, mainly associated with property, plant, and equipment, as well as associates. These losses amounted to 13 rand cents. Furthermore, there was an impairment loss on the remeasurement of disposal groups, totaling 21 rand cents, compared to 52 rand cents in June 2022. On the other hand, there was a net profit of 3 rand cents from the sale of SA towers and other assets, compared to 16 rand cents in June 2022.
Headline EPS was influenced by several non-operational and one-off items, amounting to approximately ZAR2.07. In contrast, the figure for the same six-month period in 2022 stood at 94 rand cents.
It is encouraging to see MTN Group expecting favorable financial results in the first half of the year. The company’s focus on growth and strategic initiatives seems to be paying off, despite some impairments and one-off items impacting earnings.
