MTN Nigeria vests 1.3 million shares to key staff

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has vested 1.3 million ordinary shares to its key executives, according to regulatory filings by the mobile network operator.

The company vested the shares to 33 employees between 26 and 27 March as a share-based compensation strategy to reward staff.

Share vesting allows the founders or employees the right to earn shares in a company over a period of time after meeting certain conditions.

According to corporate disclosures filed by MTN Nigeria at the Nigerian Exchange, Ukpanah Uto (company secretary), Kadri Modupe (chief financial officer), Ibrahim Yahaya (chief technical officer) and Sanya Odunayo (executive director, MTN Foundation) were awarded 85,213, 187,496, 96,726 and 26,553 shares in that order.

Other beneficiaries of the share vesting include 11 managers, nine senior managers and nine general managers.

In 2022, MTN Nigeria introduced new share schemes called Performance Share Plan (PSP) and Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) for its staff, both replacing an old scheme called Notional Plan Option.

The PSP, a conditional share offer, awards shares to management staff yearly and allows eligible participants to receive a specific number of shares.

“The vesting period for the PSP is three years and the awards vest in full based on set performance targets. Employees are not entitled to receive dividends on the shares during the vesting period,” MTN Nigeria stated in its financial statements for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2022.

The ESOP is a one-off share award by MTN Nigeria to qualifying non-management staff at no cost to the employees and is not tied to company performance.

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According to the financial statements, the shares are divided into three with the first part vested after three years, the second after four years and the final part after five years from the grant date.

MTN Nigeria posted a record N3.4 trillion revenue last year but reported a 192.2 per cent surge in net loss, driven by a sharper net foreign exchange loss.