MTN Nigeria Plc has reported a pre-tax loss of N575.69 billion in its operations for the first quarter of 2024, citing inflation and naira devaluation for the development.

The result is a sharp reversal of the N162.9 billion profit recorded in the same period in 2023, according to the firm's unaudited financial statement for the first quarter (Q1), 2024.

Filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, the report said revenue stood at N752.9 billion, marking a 32.5 percent increase from the N568.1 billion recorded in Q1 last year.

MTN attributed the loss to exchange rate depreciation, which led to a significant N656.3 billion in foreign exchange (FX) losses.

However, the report said the telecommunications company experienced growth across all its revenue lines, including voice, data, fintech, and digital revenue.

The record showed that voice and data combined contributed N318.9 billion and N349.5 billion, indicating growth rates of 14.9 percent and 53.4 percent, respectively.

TheCable Index analysis of the report showed that MTN's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) also declined, reaching N296.9 billion.

This represents a drop of 1.9 percent, as EBITDA margins fell to 39.4 percent -- compared to 53.3 percent in the same period in 2023.

Commenting on the difficult operating conditions, Karl Toriola, chief executive officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria, cited the increasing inflation and continuous depreciation of the naira as causes for the losses.

"The operating environment in the first quarter remained very challenging, with rising inflation and continued naira depreciation off an already low base," he said.