MTN Nigeria Communications Plc says it will issue three commercial paper notes worth N23bn each to boost its working capital.
Commercial papers are short-term debt securities typically issued by creditworthy corporations looking to raise funds from the public to meet working capital requirements as a viable alternative to bank credit.
According to a statement signed by MTNN company secretary, Uto Ukpanah on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the proposed series three commercial paper is part of its N150 billion issuance programme.
Part of the statement read, “MTN Nigeria Communications notifies Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public of its proposed issuance of up to N23 billion series three commercial paper notes under its N150 billion commercial paper issuance programme.
The issuance is part of the company’s strategy to diversify its financing options, with the funds deployed towards working capital and general corporate purposes. Further details on the issuance as well as subsequent issuance will be communicated to the market as the transaction occurred.”
In the first six months of 2022, MTN Nigeria reported a total profit of N181 billion. The amount is 28 per cent more than what was recorded in the same period of last year at N141.8 billion. Total revenue for the period was N950 billion, a 20 per cent spike from N791 billion in the first half of last year.
CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola said “during the first half of 2022, we made good progress in strengthening the resilience of the business in the face of our increasingly challenging operating environment with rising energy, food and general inflation putting pressure on consumer spending.”
Toriola noted that “the company remains focused on building on the solid foundation of growth we have laid thus far. We will continue to ramp up gross connections to grow our subscriber base to offset the impact of the expected increase in churn in Q3, 2022.
“We will continue accelerating rural connectivity and expanding our 4G network towards achieving our goal of 80 per cent coverage by year-end. We plan to commence the initial launch of 5G services in the six geopolitical zones in Q3 2022, per our licence requirement, and unlock many new use cases for consumers and enterprises.
“We will also continue to pursue our home broadband strategy to capture a significant share of market growth while leveraging the fixed wireless access, fibre and 5G technologies for enhanced speeds.
“However, we anticipate a more normalised trajectory in Q4, 2022. Having commenced MoMo PSB commercial operations, our goal is to build an inclusive platform for customers, ecosystem partners and other stakeholders. In addition, we plan to provide more advanced services working with ecosystem partners in the country. As we execute our strategy to sustain growth, we will continue implementing appropriate interventions as we navigate the challenging operating environment.”
