Joy Agwunobi
MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, has reported a strong performance for the first half of 2025, with service revenue rising 22.4 percent year-on-year to R105.1 billion.
The growth was driven by robust contributions from its Nigerian and Ghanaian operations, alongside continued momentum in its fintech business.
The results, released for the six months ended June 30, 2025, highlight the company’s ability to execute commercially in a stabilising macroeconomic environment across key markets.
The group credited improved foreign exchange stability in Nigeria and a stronger Ghanaian cedi, alongside disciplined capital allocation and strategic investments in networks and platforms, for the impressive results.
Data revenue surged 34.3 percent, buoyed by a 29.1 percent jump in traffic to 11.7 petabytes and an expanding subscriber base. MTN now serves 297.7 million subscribers, up 4.7 percent year-on-year, with active data users growing by 10.3 percent to 164.4 million.
Fintech operations maintained strong traction, with revenue climbing 24.9 percent, driven by Mobile Money (MoMo). Monthly active MoMo users grew to 63.2 million, while transaction volumes rose 14.5 percent to 11.1 billion. Advanced fintech services, including payments, lending, and insurance products, expanded revenue by 42 percent and now contribute a third of MoMo’s topline.
Nigeria and Ghana remained central to MTN’s revenue performance. MTN Nigeria delivered a stellar 54.1 percent increase in service revenue, supported by price adjustments approved in the market during the period. MTN Ghana also posted robust growth of 39.9 percent, boosted further by favourable currency movements.
In South Africa, however, the company continued to face competitive headwinds, particularly in the prepaid segment, with service revenue growth limited to 2.3 percent.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 42.3 percent to R46.7 billion, pushing margins higher by 7.1 percentage points to 44.2 percent. This was supported by R1.5 billion in savings from the group’s expense efficiency programme.
Basic earnings per share (EPS) swung sharply into positive territory at 539 cents, compared with a loss of 409 cents in the same period last year. Headline EPS (HEPS) rose to 645 cents from a loss of 256 cents in H1 2024.
Operating free cash flow doubled to R20.5 billion, reflecting both topline growth and improved efficiency. Group net debt-to-EBITDA leverage improved to 0.5x, well below the 2.5x covenant threshold, while Holdco leverage remained stable at 1.5x.
MTN invested R20.8 billion (excluding leases) in capital expenditure, equivalent to a capex intensity ratio of 19 percent, to expand capacity, coverage, and platform quality across its markets. Nigeria received the largest share of this deployment, while Ghana’s spend was amplified by the stronger cedi.
Liquidity remained strong at mid-year, with R39.1 billion in headroom, including R15.7 billion in cash. The company also raised R1.8 billion through its domestic medium-term note programme to refinance 2025 maturities.
Commenting on the results, Ralph Mupita, MTN Group president and CEO, said, “The group reported a pleasing set of results, driven by strong commercial execution, disciplined capital allocation and improved macro-economic conditions. We are encouraged by the acceleration in our topline and the recovery in our profitability and free cash flow generation.”
