MTN Is Growing Fast in Nigeria and Ghana, and Barely at All at Home
Africa’s largest mobile operator lifted adjusted earnings 21.3% and moved US$330.5 billion through its fintech arm. Its South African home market grew 1.5% and its earnings there fell. The post MTN Is Growing Fast in Nigeria and Ghana, and Barely at All at Home appeared first on The Rio Times .
MTN, the leading telecommunications company in Africa, reported strong financial results for the second quarter of 2026. Adjusted headline earnings per share increased by 21.3% to 793 cents, while reported headline earnings per share fell by 5.8% to 615 cents, and basic earnings per share dropped 26.1% to 404 cents. Service revenue grew by 9.7% as reported and 17.5% in constant currency to R115.3 billion.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) before one-off items rose by 20.0%, increasing the margin by 4.4 percentage points to 47.1%. Fintech arm, which includes Mobile Money, saw monthly active users grow by 12.1% to 70.8 million and transaction volumes rise by 17.2% to 13 billion. Transaction value increased by 33.8% in constant currency to US$330.5 billion.
The company's service revenue grew significantly in Nigeria and Ghana, with 25.7% and 32.3% growth respectively, while South Africa's service revenue grew only by 1.5%. MTN's capital expenditure remained disciplined at R19.7 billion, within the target range of 15-18%. The company did not pay an interim dividend and announced a R6 billion buyback.
MTN's Mobile Money arm showed solid growth, with a 12.1% increase in monthly active users to 70.8 million and transaction volumes growing by 17.2%. The fintech arm is growing more slowly than MTN would like, but its expansion in mobile payments is noteworthy, indicating the company's strategic focus on becoming a payments network in addition to a telecoms operator.
Written by urgent.news from The Rio Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
