{
  "id": 18088268,
  "title": "MTN Ghana nine-month profit up 43% to GH¢7.8bn as it pays GH¢9bn in taxes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/mtn-ghana-nine-month-profit-up-43-to-gh-7-8bn-as-it-pays-gh-9bn-in",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-04T07:45:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "3News",
    "slug": "3news",
    "url": "https://3news.com/telecom/mtn-ghana-nine-month-profit-taxes-2026"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "MTN Ghana's profit after tax surged 43% to GH¢7.8 billion over the nine months to September 2026, while the company paid GH¢9.0 billion in taxes during the same period, a notable increase from GH¢7.3 billion in the previous year. The tax payments exceeded the profit, as highlighted by the Daily Graphic. MTN Ghana's nine-month profit matches the GH¢7.8 billion reported for 2025, according to 3News. The figures encompass Scancom PLC and MobileMoney Fintech LTD (MMFL), the latter managing MTN's mobile money business since March 31.\n\nService revenue expanded by 33.5% to GH¢23.2 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 40.6% to GH¢14.3 billion, increasing the profit margin by 3.1 percentage points to 61.5%. Profit before tax climbed 47% to GH¢11.4 billion. The tax charge in the accounts rose 56.1% to GH¢3.6 billion. Data revenue increased 44.5% to GH¢13.5 billion, accounting for 58.1% of service revenue, up from 53.6% a year earlier. Active data subscribers grew 16.1% to 22.0 million, with each user consuming an average of 19.8GB per month, a 36.8% rise compared to the previous year.\n\nVoice revenue grew 7.6% to GH¢3.1 billion, but its share of service revenue fell to 13.3% from 16.5% as customers shifted to internet apps. Digital revenue, including gaming and video services, nearly doubled to GH¢642 million. Total mobile subscribers increased 12.7% to 34.3 million, with 1.5 million additions in the third quarter alone. Mobile Money revenue rose 24.4% to GH¢5.4 billion, though this share of service revenue declined to 23.2% from 24.9%. Active MoMo users grew 6.9% to 18.9 million. Basic services, such as person-to-person transfers, generated GH¢3.5 billion, up 22.2%, while advanced services, including payments and lending, grew 28.7% to GH¢1.9 billion.\n\nMTN announced a 0.75% fee on MoMo-to-bank transfers starting June 1. CEO Stephen Blewett stated that the company delivered a strong third quarter with growth across Connectivity and Fintech businesses. The boards of Scancom PLC and MMFL declared a third-quarter dividend of GH¢0.03 per share. Capital expenditure fell 27.2% to GH¢3.2 billion, and free cash flow nearly doubled to GH¢7.4 billion. The National Communications Authority awarded MTN spectrum for 5G and mobile broadband in the 700 MHz and 3 GHz bands on 15-year licenses, with a US$202 million cost already included in the free cash flow outlook. Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George announced a US$1.1 billion commitment from MTN Ghana for network expansion and 5G rollout over three years. For the full year, MTN expects service revenue growth in the low-to-mid 30% range and an EBITDA margin in the high 50s to low 60s. The cedi weakened by 12.1% against the US dollar over the nine months.",
  "summary": "Data revenue jumped 44.5% to GH¢13.5bn and now makes up 58% of MTN Ghana's service revenue, its Q3 results show.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}