MTN bounces back

MTN has raised its medium-term guidance on the back of a strong set of results as the telecoms giant recovers from severe losses in its 2024 financial year.

MTN came under immense pressure during the 2024 financial year as the African markets in which it operated faced significant economic headwinds. 

Chief among these was the sharp devaluation of the Nigerian Naira in response to the government’s drastic steps to normalise monetary policy. 

These interventions are expected to be broadly positive for the Nigerian economy in the long run, but have had severe negative consequences in the short term. 

The country has been hit by high inflation and elevated interest rates, and international companies, such as MTN, have seen their earnings decline in dollar terms.

However, the company’s interim results for the six months through June 2025 revealed that it is on the mend.

For the first half of the company’s 2025 financial year, MTN’s service revenue grew by 22.4% in constant currency terms to R105.11 billion.

This strong growth is attributable to the company’s operations in Nigeria and Ghana, which grew their service revenue by 117.5% and 46%, respectively. Both segments also saw their EBITDA margins rise.

However, MTN’s service revenue from South Africa fell by 3.6% to R9.22 billion, with this segment’s EBITDA margin remaining flat.

Overall, MTN’s total subscribers were up 4.7% to 297.7 million, while active data subscribers increased by 10.3% to 164.4 million.

The company also recorded an impressive 231.8% increase in its basic earnings per share to 539 cents, a remarkable turnaround from the 409 cents loss in the first half of 2024.

CEO Ralph Mupita attributed these impressive results to strong commercial execution, disciplined capital allocation and improved macroeconomic conditions. 

“Our performance in H1 2025 was supported by improved macroeconomic conditions, characterised by greater stability in inflation and foreign exchange (forex) rates in key markets,” he said. 

Specifically, Mupita noted that the Nigerian naira exhibited greater stability against the US dollar in the first half of 2025 compared to the second of 2024.

In addition, the Ghanaian cedi strengthened year-to-date in H1 against both the rand and the US dollar. 

Mupita explained that the approval of price adjustments in Nigeria, which were phased in during the first half of 2025, boosted MTN Nigeria and the group’s service revenue expansion.

On the back of these strong results, MTN raised its overall medium-term guidance as follows:

• MTN Group service revenue growth upgraded to ‘at least high-teens’ from ‘at least mid-teens’
• MTN South Africa service revenue growth of ‘low to mid-single digit’ from ‘mid-single digit’
• MTN Nigeria service revenue growth of ‘at least low-20%’ from ‘at least 20%’
• Fintech service revenue growth of ‘high-20% to low-30%’, left unchanged
• Holdco leverage: 1.5x or below, left unchanged
• Adjusted ROE: Improvement towards 25%, left unchanged

Mupita said this decision underlines the strength of MTN’s portfolio and the company’s commitment to accelerating business growth and unlocking value for shareholders.

MTN did not declare an interim dividend for the six months through June 2025. However, the company said its board expects to pay a minimum ordinary final dividend of 370 cents per share for the 2025 financial year.