MTN Achieves Historic $7.18 Billion Revenue, Fueled by Nigerian and Ghanaian Growth

MTN Group announced record first-half (H1) 2026 earnings with service revenue reaching approximately $7.18 billion (R115.3 billion), a 17.5% increase year-on-year. The group’s profit after tax also surged to $994 million (R15.9 billion) from R14.8 billion in H1 2025.

Key Drivers of Growth

The remarkable performance was largely attributed to:

  • Dominant market position: MTN controls 48% of Nigeria’s telecom market and 32.8 million subscribers (85%) in Ghana, driving high demand for mobile data
  • Fintech expansion: The continued growth of Mobile Money (MoMo) ecosystems generated substantial revenue from user transactions and infrastructure development
  • Strategic tariff adjustments: A price adjustment implemented in early 2025 helped reverse the previous year’s losses
  • Favorable exchange rates: Stability in local currencies supported earnings across key markets

Market-Specific Highlights

Nigeria

With a contribution of 30% to total revenue, MTN Nigeria delivered $1.96 billion (₦3 trillion) – primarily from data services which accounted for ₦1.70 trillion. Voice revenue generated ₦993 billion while fintech contributed ₦77 billion.

Ghana

Revenue in Ghana rose by an impressive 32.3% to $1.3 billion (GH¢14.96 billion), with profit after tax jumping 43.3% to $461 million (GH¢5.13 billion).

Mixed Results Across Markets

While Nigeria and Ghana showed exceptional growth, MTN’s South African operations faced intensified competition, resulting in a slight revenue increase of 1.5%. The company is actively working to regain market share in this competitive environment.

70% of MTN’s service revenue came from its top three markets: Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.

Data Usage Surge

The group witnessed a significant increase in data traffic – up 22.8% to 14.3 PB – fueling 50% (R58.6 billion) of service revenue. Active data subscribers across MTN’s 19 markets reached 179.3 million, with average usage per user at 13.6 GB.

The growth in data revenue reflects increasing internet adoption across Africa, driven by smartphone penetration which now stands at 66.5%.

Digital Services Momentum

MTN’s digital services revenue grew by 20.9%, led by strong performance in Ghana and Nigeria. The launch of MTN One TV – a new streaming platform designed to make digital video content more accessible – is expected to further boost this segment in the second half of 2026.

Fintech Performance

Fintech revenue increased slightly by 1.4% to $931.66 million (R14.9 billion) despite disruptions from suspending airtime advances in Nigeria and operational challenges in Uganda. Excluding these impacts, EBITDA margins improved to 38.8%, demonstrating the resilience of MTN’s digital financial services.