South African-based telecommunications firm, MTN, has disclosed that for the first time in its 22 years of operation, it recorded a $200 million loss in 2016.
The development can be attributed to the huge fine of $1 billion imposed on the telecommunications giant by the Federal Government of Nigeria in October 2015, for failing to disconnect unregistered mobile accounts in the country. The original NCC penalty was equal to roughly a quarter of the country’s annual federal budget.
The company claimed that its overall performance was hindered by lower than expected growth in both South Africa and Nigeria, as well as the depreciation of the rand against the dollar.
MTN’s operations in South Africa were also hit by technical issues and customer service problems during the year, which also hurt the bottom line, the company said.
“Towards the end of 2016 our two largest operations (South Africa and Nigeria) began to show signs of a turnaround following an extended period of underperformance,” the company’s statement said
