MTN Group delivered strong FY2025 financial performance with service revenue increasing 22.9 percent to R218.5 billion, supported by rapid growth in fintech, data services, subscriber expansion, and digital infrastructure investments across African markets.
The telecom operator reported EBITDA of R98.5 billion before once-off items, representing a 64 percent increase year-on-year and 36.8 percent growth in constant currency terms. EBITDA margin expanded significantly by 11.5 percentage points to 43.5 percent, highlighting improved operational efficiency and scale benefits.
MTN has transitioned from its Ambition 2025 strategy to the new Ambition 2030 roadmap, focused on three core growth platforms including connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure.
The connectivity business continues to drive MTN’s traditional voice and data operations, while the fintech platform is expanding digital financial services through Mobile Money (MoMo). The digital infrastructure segment focuses on monetizing tower assets, fiber networks, and next-generation connectivity infrastructure.
MTN Group reported group service revenue growth of 20 percent to R56.9 billion compared with R47.4 billion in the previous period, supported by strong performance in Nigeria and Ghana.
MTN Nigeria remained the largest contributor to group service revenue, generating R17.5 billion, up 34.3 percent year-on-year and 41.7 percent in constant currency terms. Nigeria contributed 30.7 percent of total group service revenue.
MTN Ghana delivered the strongest growth performance among major markets, with service revenue increasing 65.5 percent to R10.9 billion. In constant currency terms, revenue growth reached 35.7 percent. Ghana contributed 19.2 percent to group service revenue.
MTN South Africa reported relatively stable performance, with service revenue rising 0.7 percent to R10.8 billion. South Africa accounted for 18.9 percent of MTN Group’s service revenue.
MTN Uganda recorded service revenue of R4.1 billion, down 4.5 percent on a reported basis, although constant currency growth remained positive at 7.6 percent. Uganda contributed 7.2 percent of group service revenue.
MTN crossed a major subscriber milestone during FY2025, with total subscribers increasing 5.6 percent to 307.2 million customers. Active data users rose 9.4 percent to 172.6 million, while monthly active MoMo users increased 10 percent to 69.5 million.
Growing smartphone adoption and digital consumption continued to drive data traffic growth across MTN markets. Average monthly data usage per customer increased to 12.5GB from 10.8GB in 2024, while total network traffic grew 27 percent to 24.7 petabytes.
The company invested R38.5 billion in capital expenditure excluding leases during FY2025 to strengthen network capacity, expand 4G and 5G coverage, and improve broadband connectivity. MTN maintained capex intensity at 17 percent, remaining within its target range of 15-18 percent.
Broadband coverage expanded to 94 percent of the population across MTN’s markets, supporting the company’s digital inclusion and connectivity strategy.
MTN also accelerated operational efficiency initiatives through its Expense Efficiency Programme, which generated R3.6 billion in savings during 2025 and increased cumulative savings to R7.4 billion.
Artificial intelligence is becoming a key pillar of MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy, with the company leveraging AI for personalized customer experiences, network optimization, and operational automation.
MTN’s fintech business continued to scale rapidly, with total transaction value surpassing $500 billion. Transaction volumes increased 15 percent to more than 23 billion transactions, reflecting strong adoption of digital financial services across Africa.
The telecom operator also reduced the average cost of data by 14 percent to improve digital accessibility and support broader internet adoption across underserved markets.
MTN reported fintech revenue growth of 23.2 percent in constant currency, while data revenue increased 36.4 percent, reinforcing the growing importance of digital services within the group’s revenue mix.
The company declared a dividend of 500 cents, representing a 45 percent increase year-on-year, as MTN continued enhancing shareholder returns alongside growth investments.
Looking ahead, MTN said it remains focused on managing macroeconomic volatility in Nigeria while scaling fintech and digital infrastructure operations under its Ambition 2030 strategy. The group reaffirmed its medium-term guidance targeting sustained return on equity above 25 percent.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH