Joy Agwunobi
MTN Nigeria has announced a strong financial rebound in the first quarter of 2025, reporting a revenue of N1.057 trillion, a 40.5 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
This growth was primarily driven by the recent upward tariff adjustment implemented in February, improved cost efficiencies, reduced foreign exchange losses, and expansion across its digital and fintech verticals.
According to the unaudited financial results released by the company, MTN returned to profitability in Q1 2025, posting a profit after tax of N133.7 billion. This marks a turnaround from the ₦392.7 billion loss recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
Despite the fact that the full financial impact of the tariff increase has not yet been fully captured, the company has already begun to see strong revenue gains. The phased tariff implementation commenced in mid-February 2025, with the majority of price adjustments rolling out in March. MTN stated that a more substantial revenue effect is expected from Q2 onwards.
In line with conditions set by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the 50 per cent tariff adjustment, MTN significantly ramped up its investment in network infrastructure.
The company spent N202.4 billion in capital expenditure during the quarter, representing a 159 per cent increase from the N78.1 billion spent in Q1 2024. This investment supported improved network capacity and service delivery across its growing customer base.
MTN’s subscriber base also expanded notably during the period. The telecom giant added 3.2 million new users in Q1 2025, bringing its total active subscribers to 84.1 million. Data usage continued to surge, with the number of active data users increasing by 2.6 million to 50.3 million, and data traffic witnessing a 46.4 per cent year-on-year growth.
Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, attributed this performance to a disciplined approach to subscriber acquisition and retention, combined with continued innovation in customer value offerings.
“Our growth was supported by a deliberate focus on gross connection efficiency and churn control, alongside enhancements in our customer value management strategies. Initial signs show that customer demand has remained resilient despite price changes, especially due to our targeted CVM initiatives,”Toriola noted.
Data and voice services remained the company’s core revenue drivers. Data revenue rose by 51.5 per cent year-on-year to ₦529.44 billion, while voice revenue increased by 27.7 per cent to ₦407.41 billion in Q1 2025.
However, operating expenses also rose during the period. Total expenses increased by 23.9 per cent year-on-year to N567.23 billion, up from N456.02 billion in Q1 2024. Nevertheless, the company managed to curb finance-related losses significantly.
Net finance costs dropped by 44 per cenet, falling from N134.55 billion in Q1 2024 to N93.41 billion in the current quarter. This was attributed to reduced finance lease payments and foreign exchange exposure.
MTN further noted that Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment showed signs of modest stability during the quarter. “Although challenges persist, we are encouraged by the relative stability of the naira and the moderation of inflation following the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index in January 2025,” the company stated adding “by the end of March 2025, the naira had stabilised at N1,537 per US dollar, while inflation settled at 24.2 per cent.”
In the fintech segment, MTN reported a recalibration of its strategy, focusing on improving ecosystem quality and sustainability.
As a result, its active wallet user base declined by 25.7 per cent to 2.1 million as of March 2025. However, the company emphasised that this shift allowed it to attract more high-value customers and increase liquidity within the wallet system.
Overall, the company said its commercial momentum remained strong, with broad-based growth across its core business lines including data, voice, digital services, and fintech. Service revenue rose by 40.5%, supported by late-quarter tariff adjustments.
Cost pressures, the firm added, were mitigated by the revised lease agreement with IHS Towers, which helped cap forex-linked cost increases and improve cost efficiencies.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) surged by 65.9 per cent, while the EBITDA margin improved by 7.2 percentage points to 46.6 per cent which is well in line with the company’s financial guidance.
“Notably, the stability in the exchange rate in Q1 versus December 2024 helped reduce forex losses,” MTN Nigeria added.
