By Ayomide Otitoju
MTN Nigeria reduced spending on core infrastructure projects in 2024 despite a 168.3% surge in capital expenditure (Capex) to N1.53 trillion, largely driven by tower lease renegotiations that increased financial obligations.
Excluding lease components, the telecom giant’s investment in critical infrastructure such as fibre networks, base stations, and technology upgrades fell to N443.5 billion from N449.3 billion in 2023. The figures were disclosed in MTN’s financial report for the year ended December 31, 2024, released on Thursday.
Capex intensity, which measures the percentage of revenue allocated to network expansion, also declined from 18.2% in 2023 to 13.2% in 2024, indicating a more cautious approach to infrastructure investment. However, the company ramped up spending in Q4 to accommodate increased data traffic demand.
“Capex rose by 168.3% (N1.53tn in 2024 from N570.9bn in 2023) due to increased right-of-use assets following tower lease renegotiation,” the report stated. “Excluding leases, our capex saw a slight decline of 1.3% (N443.5bn from N449.3bn in 2023), with a reduced capex intensity of 13.2%.”
MTN Nigeria reported a post-tax loss of N400.44 billion, attributing the decline to naira devaluation, which increased foreign exchange losses and negatively impacted earnings. Despite the losses, revenue rose by 36% to N3.36 trillion in 2024 from N2.47 trillion in the previous year, driven by sustained demand for data and digital services.
