MTN Nigeria has delivered a sharp turnaround in the nine months to 30 September 2025, restoring positive retained earnings and shareholders’ equity and declaring an interim dividend as service revenue and profitability surged.
The operator grew total subscribers 11% year on year to 85.4 million, with active data users up 12.8% to 51.1 million. Service revenue jumped 57.5% to ₦3.71-trillion, propelled by strong data demand (data revenue +73.2%), voice (+41.9%) and fintech (+72.5%). Ebitda – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – more than doubled, rising 123% to ₦1.92-trillion, expanding the margin by 15.1 percentage points to 51.4%.
Profit after tax came in at ₦750.2-billion, a stark reversal from the ₦514.9-billion loss posted a year earlier, aided by a net foreign-exchange gain of ₦55.6-billion versus a heavy FX loss in 2024. Earnings per share rose to ₦35.77 from a loss per share of ₦24.51 in the same nine-month period in 2024.
“MTN Nigeria has restored its positive retained earnings and shareholders’ equity positions,” said CEO Karl Toriola. “This milestone reflects strong operational momentum and disciplined execution,” underpinned by a more favourable macro backdrop, price adjustments and cost efficiencies.
The balance sheet returned to positive territory with retained earnings at ₦142.7-billion (from -₦607.5-billion in December 2024) and shareholders’ equity at ₦293.1-billion (from -₦458-billion). Free cash flow rose 38.5% to ₦742.6-billion. The board approved an interim dividend of ₦5/share, payable to shareholders on the register as of 20 November 2025.
MTN credited an improving macro environment for part of the recovery. The naira strengthened from ₦1 535/US$ in December 2024 to ₦1 475/US$ at end-September, headline inflation eased to 18% from 34.8%, and the Central Bank cut the policy rate by 50 basis points to 27%. Cost pressures were further contained by renegotiated tower leases and ongoing expense initiatives.
Commercial momentum
Capex excluding leases accelerated 248% to ₦757.4-billion as MTN pushed capacity upgrades, new sites, fibre-to-the-home roll-out and a new data centre. Reported capex declined 8.7% year on year due to prior-year lease modifications. The company expects capex intensity to moderate in Q4, supporting stronger free cash generation.
Commercial momentum remained broad-based. Data traffic grew 36.3% and average usage per subscriber rose 20.8% to 13.2GB, with smartphone penetration at 65.1% and 4G coverage around 82%. Home broadband subscribers reached four million after adding 281 000 in Q3. Fintech continued to recover, with active wallets at 2.9 million and revenue up 72.5%, supported by deeper agent and merchant networks.
Read: MTN tops 300 million subscribers for the first time
MTN reaffirmed its single-year guidance for 2025 of “at least low-50%” service revenue growth and Ebitda margin in the low-50s, with medium-term (from 2026) targets of at least low-20% average service revenue growth and a 53-55% Ebitda margin, assuming stable macro conditions and no further price adjustments. “We expect to close the year on a stronger note while positioning the business for long-term success,” Toriola said. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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