MTN CEO scores R65 million payday

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita’s single-figure remuneration has dropped by 20% to R65 million after the group posted an R11 billion loss in 2024.

Mupita’s single-figure remuneration primarily dropped due to his long-term incentives declining from R46.6 million in 2023 to R18.6 million in 2024, even if his short-term incentives nearly doubled to R12.1 million.

Mupita’s remuneration drop comes after the group was affected by the devaluation of the Naira in its largest market, Nigeria, and high inflation levels in key markets.

Moreover, the conflict in Sudan impacted the group’s operational and financial performance. Nevertheless, the group’s customer base reached 291 million.

The company’s report showed that group EBITDA rose by 10.2% to R70.1 billion on a currency basis, but fell by 33% on a reported basis.

The group’s service revenue declined by 5.4% on a reported basis to R177.8 billion, while data revenue dropped by 12.3% on a reported basis.

Despite the group’s overall pain, South Africa was a bright spark in 2024. The telcos company was buoyed by the two-pot system, declining inflation, reduced interest rates and a relatively stable rand.

MTN SA saw service revenue growth of 3.1% for the year, underpinned by network availability improvement and commercial initiatives.

Total data revenue jumped by 2.9% and contributed 47.8% to MTN SA’s total service revenue, driven by a 6.8% increase in active data subscribers to 21.8 million.

Nevertheless, the group’s total loss after tax reached R11.2 billion, well below the R4 billion after-tax profit in 2023.

The group’s basic earnings per share declined by over 100% to a loss of 531 cents per share. Reported headline earnings also dropped by 68.9% to 98 cents per share.

That said, the group increased its dividend from 330 cents per share in the prior year to 345 cents per share, with the dividend paid out of revenue reserves.

Amid the group’s difficult period, Mupita was not the only executive to see his pay decline. MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola’s remuneration dropped by 13.2% to R35.4 million.

MTN SA CEO Charles Molapisi also saw his remuneration drop by 2.0% to R26.3 million, while Senior Vice President of Markets Ebenezer Asante saw his remuneration decline by 25% to R37.8 million.

On the other hand, the Group’s CFO, Tsholofelo Molefe, saw her remuneration increase by 14.1% to R33.6 million after her short-term incentives increased by R5 million to R12.6 million.

Heading to the Constitutional Court

MTN has also informed shareholders of its plan to approach the Constitutional Court over an issue facing the group’s activities in Iran.

The case dates back to 2013, when Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri and its subsidiary East Asian Consortium (EAC) took legal action against MTN at the High Court of South Africa.

Turkcell and EAC wanted MTN to pay damages, accusing it of impropriety in awarding the first private mobile telecommunications licence in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2004.

The Turkish company accused MTN of bribing Iranian government officials to win a significant stake in the license.

Thus, it approached the High Court, asking for roughly R78 billion in damages for lost business, revenue, and profits.

MTN’s independent special committee found no evidence of Turkcell’s allegations. The High Court ruled in MTN’s favour, with the matter coming down to jurisdiction.

However, MTN has been dealt a blow in the case after the Supreme Court of Appeal set aside the High Court’s judgement, deciding that South African courts have jurisdiction.

The SCA also upheld the High Court ruling that Iranian law applies to key aspects of the dispute.

“The decision to uphold the appeal does not relate to the merits of Turkcell’s claims or the allegations made against MTN Group, which have not yet been tested in court,” said MTN.

“We have always maintained that the Turkcell litigation was without merit and have expressed confidence that it would successfully defend these proceedings.

MTN intends to appeal the SCA’s decision at the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa.