MTN Group said on Friday that its headline earnings per share (Heps) will rise by between 25% and 35% in the year to 31 December 2021, though this figure will have been higher if not for once-off items.
Earnings per share (EPS), meanwhile, are expected fall by between 15% and 25%, MTN said.
EPS includes impairment losses of about 64c that relate mainly to MTN Yemen, largely non-cash losses from the deconsolidation of subsidiary MTN Syria of R2.62/share, and fair-value gains on acquisition or disposal of assets totalling 99c.
Included in Heps are the negative impacts of several non-operational and once-off items with a net total of about R1.23. These include items relating to hyperinflation excluding impairments (42c); foreign exchange losses (R1.11); other non-operational items (30c); and donations related to Covid-19 support for the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the Coalition Against Covid task force in Nigeria (24c).
MTN, whose share price has surged 158% in the past 12 months, is expected to report full-year results on 9 March.