MTN Assigns $231m Shareholder Loan to IHS

MTN Group, Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator, thursday said it had assigned a $231 million shareholder loan to phone tower group, IHS Holding Limited, impacting its 2017 profits.

MTN, which returned to profit in the first half of its financial year in the absence of one-off charges related to a $1.1 billion Nigerian fine, said the assignment of the loan to IHS will lead to a loss of 2.8 billion rand ($228 million) on transfer of the carrying value of the loan.

The loss on transfer will impact headline earnings per share (HEPS) for 2017, the main profit measure in South Africa that strips out certain one-off items, but not earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), Reuters quoted the firm to have said.

MTN said the loan, which is due in 2024/2025, will allow its Nigerian unit to continue to invest in its network and simplify MTN’s interests in IHS.

“The agreement will enable MTN and IHS to mutually benefit from continued investment and commitment to the rollout of broadband and data services in Nigeria,” MTN said in a statement.
MTN formed a joint venture partnership with specialist tower company IHS in 2014 to own and operate MTN’s transmitter towers in Nigeria.

IHS has operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d‘Ivoire, Rwanda and Zambia.

MTN Nigeria is part of the MTN Group, Africa’s leading cellular telecommunications company.

On May 16, 2001, MTN became the first GSM network to make a call following the globally lauded Nigerian GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) earlier in the year.

Thereafter the company launched full commercial operations beginning with Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

MTN paid $285million for one of four GSM licences in Nigeria in January 2001. To date, in excess of US$1.8 billion has been invested building mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria.

Since launch in August 2001, MTN has steadily deployed its services across Nigeria.

It now provides services in 223 cities and towns, more than 10,000 villages and communities and a growing number of highways across the country, spanning the 36 states of the Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.