MTN Group has recorded another historic result, signalling a performance that continues to benefit from foreign exchange stability in key markets and its digital infrastructure expansion. In
MTN Group has recorded another historic result, signalling a performance that continues to benefit from foreign exchange stability in key markets and its digital infrastructure expansion.
In its first-half 2026 earnings, the operator announced service revenue of approx. $7.18 billion (R115.3 billion), 17.5% more than what it earned a year ago, and the highest in its history. Profit after tax increased to $994 million (R15.9 billion) from R14.8 billion in H1 2025.
The group’s earnings saw leading figures from its Nigerian and Ghanaian markets, with 30% and 19% contributions to revenue, respectively.
In extensive numbers, its Nigerian market delivered a ₦3 trillion service revenue largely driven by ₦1.70 trillion in data revenue, with voice (₦993 billion) and fintech (₦77 billion). In Ghana, revenue rose by 32.3% year-on-year to $1.3 billion (GH¢14.96 billion), and profit after tax jumped 43.3% to $461 million (GH¢5.13 billion).
Two factors continue to propel MTN’s revenue in these markets.
The operator exerts dominance in the subscriber base, leading to increasing demand for mobile data. In Nigeria, the company controls 48% of the total telecoms market, leaving Airtel, Globacom and others to battle for the rest. It controls 32.8 million subscribers in Ghana, representing 85% of the total subscribers in the country.
The expansion of fintech ecosystems, especially MoMo, has continued to drive user growth and expansion of infrastructure in both countries. This realisation and growth matched MTN’s ongoing process to structurally separate its fintech arm from connectivity in Nigeria. A similar restructure that has now been completed in Ghana (Q1 2026) and Uganda (2025).
Secondly, a tariff adjustment implemented in early 2025 was the defining point of the group’s turnaround from the loss of 2024. This continues to influence earnings, supported by foreign exchange stability in the local currencies and counter-inflationary pressures.
However, MTN delivered a mixed result in South Africa. With intensified competition from mobile and virtual operators and internet service providers, MTN continues to play catch-up. While there was a 1.5% increase in service revenue, a boost from last year’s earnings, the subscriber base dropped 0.7% to 39.5 million.
About 70% of the company’s service revenue was contributed by its Nigerian, Ghanaian and South African markets. Other subsidiaries like Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon topped contributions in the remaining 30%.
Also Read: FCCPC, NCC okays MTN-IHS deal, 30% stake to be sold to Nigerian investors.
Data usage continues to growRevenue from data usage fueled about 50% (R58.6 billion) of the group’s service revenue after its data traffic grew 22.8% to 14.3 PB. This shows the rush of data from device to device.
Active data subscribers on MTN’s network across its 19 markets climbed to 179.3 million, with usage per user at 13.6 GB.
The strong growth in data revenue tells a familiar story. It follows a trend of increasing internet usage across the African continent. Across home and business, access to the internet drives connectivity. Smartphone penetration deepening at 66.5% shows Africans are leveraging the space for social media, online learning, and access to digital infrastructure.
Revenue from outgoing and incoming calls is increasing albeit at a slow rate. Total earnings from voice increased by 2.4% to $1.87 billion (R30 billion), attributed to the tariff adjustment in Nigeria. Although voice revenue declined by 1.6% in Ghana, the group said the service continues to grow across its markets.
In contrast to the group’s statement, telecom operators have been experiencing a drastic drop in revenue from voice. Africans are shifting to internet-based data, free over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps like WhatsApp and Zoom, and bundled data packages that replace expensive per-minute out-of-bundle voice billing.
An internet user MTN saw its digital services revenue grow by 20.9%, driven primarily by strong growth in lifestyle and gaming services. Its key markets, Ghana and Nigeria, led the growth with contributions from other subsidiaries.
With the rollouts of MTN One TV, a new streaming and entertainment proposition designed to make digital video content more accessible, the group is expected to record increased revenue from its digital services in H2 2026.
13 billion fintech transactionsMTN saw its fintech revenue slightly increase by 1.4% to $931.66 million (R14.9 billion). The figure was achieved after the suspension of airtime advance in Nigeria, a core part of fintech revenue, and operational disruptions within the Uganda agent network.
EBITDA margins slowed to 42.4% (from 43.3% in H1 2025) primarily due to the disruptions to airtime advance in Nigeria. Excluding the impact of this disruption, its EBITDA margins improved to 38.8%, showing how XtraTime services continued to grow faster than basic services.
In addition, the airtime suspension shows how MTN was affected by the suspension and the impact of the Nigerian market on its revenue across all sessions.
Outside airtime advances, MoMo (mobile money) revenue grew by 17.8% and was supported by continued growth in advanced services, particularly in Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia and Benin. The figure marks a defining result in an African market dominated by startups and mobile money giants across the continent.
In this growth lie impressive figures
The growth reflects how MTN is pushing its fintech base towards the goal of making it a strong standalone enterprise. Revenue from fintech is expected to rise in H2 2026, driven by airtime lending reinstatement in Nigeria.
Digital infrastructure for Ambition 2030MTN is advancing its Ambition 2030, which continues to reflect in how the group positions its infrastructure, connectivity and fintech divisions. The distribution of its digital infrastructure reflects what the group considers a big market and which has the influence to fuel this push.
Nigeria accounted for 40% of the $1.49 billion (R24 billion) spent on capital expenditure in H1 2026, while South Africa and Ghana saw 13.8% and 12.5%, respectively.
The group is not only spending on expansion, but it’s also generating revenue. Through its digital infrastructure, MTN saw R2.3 billion from tower lease and roaming deals, though the figure marks a 7.1% decrease. Also, its fibre network, through Bayobab, saw external revenue growth of 37.2% driven by network expansion.
Its acquisition of IHS Towers, a deal to buy back the 70% stake it did not own, is expected to unlock value for MTN and to strengthen and reintegrate its ownership of critical digital infrastructure across Africa.
Also Read: Ambition 2030: MTN migrates MoMo to cloud infrastructure across 4 African countries.
