South African telecoms giant MTN said Thursday that it made a $200 million loss in 2016 - the company's first - after suffering a huge fine in Nigeria and currency challenges in key markets. "MTN Group's financial results for 2016 reflect the most challenging year in the company's 22-year history," MTN said in a statement.
Johannesburg-based MTN reported profits of 20.2 billion rand ($1.6 billion) before tax for 2015. 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 and the continued impact of a $1 billion (950 million euros) fine by Nigerian authorities. Nigerian authorities fined MTN in October 2015 for failing to disconnect unregistered mobile accounts in the country - originally ordering it to pay $1,000 for each improperly registered SIM card.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is MTN's largest market, where it now has 62 million subscribers out of a total of 233 million - a 1.2 percent increase on 2015.
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