MTN Group has reported strong growth in Q1 2025, with a 10.4 percent increase in service revenue driven by surge in MTN Nigeria and MTN Ghana.
Revenue from South Africa was R10.685 billion (up 2.6 percent).
Revenue from Nigeria was R13.012 billion (up 26.7 percent).
Revenue from Ghana was R6.592 billion (up 18.2 percent).
Revenue from Uganda was R4.265 billion (up 18 percent).
Despite ongoing conflict, MTN Sudan saw a four-fold increase in service revenue, while MTN SA managed a modest 2.6 percent revenue increase amid competitive challenges.
“MTN reported a robust performance for Q1 2025, anchored in the strong execution of our strategic and operational priorities. We invested R7.5 billion (ex-leases) of capex in our networks and platforms in support of our commercial initiatives, to sustain the encouraging strong growth in our business,” MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said.
Capex (ex-leases) has reached R7.505 billion in Q1 2025 vs R5.385 billion in Q1 2024. Capex intensity (ex-leases) has reached 15.2 percent in Q1 2025 as compared with 11.8 percent in Q1 2024.
The Group’s total subscriber base grew by 4.7 percent to 296.8 million, while data revenue increased by 28.7 percent, supported by a 9.1 percent increase in active data users to 161.7 million. MTN’s fintech arm also showed positive momentum, with fintech revenue up 25.2 percent and MoMo MAU rising to 62.2 million.
MTN Group’s EBITDA improved by 33 percent, reflecting stronger revenue growth, operational efficiencies, and better cost management, lifting the EBITDA margin to 44.1 percent.
MTN South Africa
MTN South Africa reported a 2.6 percent increase in service revenue in Q1 2025, driven by growth in consumer postpaid, wholesale, and enterprise segments. Total subscribers grew by 5.6 percent to 39.2 million, with postpaid customers rising by 6.7 percent and prepaid subscribers increasing by 4.5 percent. Data revenue rose by 3.9 percent, contributing 48.3 percent to total service revenue, supported by a 6.7 percent increase in active data users and a 19.3 percent jump in data traffic. Postpaid data usage grew by 10.4 percent to 23.7GB per month, driven by demand for fixed wireless access (FWA). Consumer postpaid revenue was up 2.9 percent, while prepaid revenue declined by 1.0 percent due to weaker voice revenue in two regions. Despite these challenges, MTN SA increased the adoption of personalised, metro-specific bundle offerings, with penetration rising to 42 percent of total in-bundle revenue.
MTN Nigeria
MTN Nigeria reported robust service revenue growth of 40.4 percent in Q1 2025, driven by strong data revenue growth of 51.4 percent as data traffic surged by 46.4 percent and average data usage per subscriber rose by 29.5 percent to 12.8GB. Smartphone penetration increased to 60.7 percent, while 4G coverage expanded to 82.7 percent. Broadband subscribers grew by 233,000, bringing the total to 3.5 million. Voice revenue climbed by 27.7 percent, supported by strategic subscriber acquisition and price adjustments. The enterprise segment saw a 54.7 percent increase in revenue, driven by fixed connectivity and data services, while digital services revenue soared by 91.7 percent on the back of rising demand for rich media content. Fintech revenue jumped 58.0 percent, with strong contributions from the airtime lending product Xtratime and increased float income.
MTN’s SEA region
MTN’s Southern and East Africa (SEA) region delivered strong service revenue growth of 22.6 percent in Q1 2025, driven by robust performances in voice (up 13.7 percent), data (up 42.6 percent), and fintech (up 21.2 percent). Subscriber numbers rose by 7.8 percent to 43.1 million, with active data users increasing by 11.9 percent to 17.1 million and MoMo active users growing by 8.6 percent to 23.3 million. MTN Uganda saw a 13.5 percent increase in service revenue, supported by a 32.4 percent rise in data revenue as active daily users expanded by 19.4 percent to 10.2 million. Despite regulatory challenges, voice revenue edged up 1.5 percent due to higher voice traffic, while digital revenue grew by 5.9 percent driven by MyMTN app adoption. Fintech revenue rose by 18.4 percent, propelled by a 19.0 percent increase in mobile money services and a 31.4 percent rise in transaction value. MTN Rwanda reported a 12.3 percent increase in service revenue in Q1 2025, driven by strong performances in the data and fintech segments. The subscriber base grew by 2.8 percent to 7.6 million, while data traffic surged by 33.6 percent, resulting in a 12.4 percent rise in data revenue despite a decline in data subscribers. Voice revenue declined by 6.3 percent due to competitive pricing pressures, though MTN Rwanda continued to implement pricing optimization strategies. Fintech revenue posted 28.0 percent increase, led by a 43.8 percent growth in advanced services revenue.
MTN’s West and Central Africa (WECA) and MENA region Q1 2025 performance:
MTN’s WECA region posted a 14.0 percent increase in service revenue in Q1 2025, driven by data (up 27.2 percent) and fintech (up 27.4 percent), while voice revenue declined by 6.2 percent. The subscriber base grew by 4.7 percent to 71.5 million, with active data subscribers increasing by 9.2 percent to 38.9 million and MoMo active users rising by 7.1 percent to 35.8 million. MTN Ghana achieved 39.5 percent service revenue growth, underpinned by a 54.9 percent surge in data revenue and a 50.8 percent rise in MoMo revenue, driven by subscriber acquisition and improved network resilience. MTN Cameroon recorded 15.7 percent service revenue growth with a strong 30.1 percent increase in data revenues. Meanwhile, MTN Côte d’Ivoire experienced a 7.0 percent decline in service revenue, impacted by a 12.7 percent drop in voice revenue despite a slight 2.0 percent rise in data revenue.
MTN’s fintech revenue
MTN’s fintech revenue rose by 25.2 percent in Q1 2025, led by strong performances in Ghana (up 47.6 percent), Rwanda (26.4 percent), and Uganda (18.4 percent). Advanced services revenue grew by 36.5 percent, increasing its contribution to total fintech revenue to 32.4 percent. Basic services revenue rose by 22.6 percent. MoMo MAU increased slightly by 1.1 percent to 62.2 million as MTN focused on enhancing customer engagement and profitability in key markets like Nigeria and South Africa. Active agents grew by 5.2 percent to 1.2 million, while active merchants declined by 10.8 percent year-on-year to 1.9 million due to ecosystem optimization efforts, though sequential growth was recorded. Overall transaction volumes increased by 13.9 percent to 5.5 billion, with transaction value surging by 48.9 percent to US$95.3 billion.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
