MTN Group, a prominent African telecom company, has announced a 5.3 per cent increase in its operating profit margin based on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA). The company's total subscriber base has also expanded by 4.7 per cent, reaching 296.8 million across its 16 markets for the first quarter ending March 2025.

According to the Group’s financial report released on Monday, its EBITDA margin rose to 44.1 per cent, driven by a significant increase in operational activities, which it described as “an encouraging acceleration in operational momentum.” The company noted that service revenue growth increased by 19.8 per cent in constant currency terms, primarily due to strong performance in key West African markets, specifically Nigeria and Ghana.

Group CEO Ralph Mupita stated that MTN reported a robust performance for Q1 2025, emphasizing the continued execution of strategic and operational priorities, boosted by improved macroeconomic conditions in key markets. The company invested R7.5-billion (excluding leases) in its networks and platforms to support commercial initiatives and sustain business growth.

Other key performance indicators revealed that MTN Group service revenue increased by 10.4 per cent, accounting for pro forma adjustments. Data revenue climbed by 17.9 per cent, with active data subscribers reaching 161.7 million, a 9.1 per cent increase. Conversely, voice revenue experienced a slight decrease of 0.1 per cent. The company also saw a surge in internet usage during the quarter, with data traffic increasing by 30.4 per cent to 5.7 exabytes. MTN MoMo (fintech) revenue increased by 17.2 per cent, and monthly active users increased by 1.1 per cent to 62.2 million.

MTN Nigeria reported a profit after tax of ₦133.7 billion ($102.85 million) in Q1 2025, a significant recovery from a ₦392.7 billion loss in the same period last year. The company also saw a 41 per cent year-on-year revenue increase to ₦1.06 trillion, driven by tariff hikes, reduced foreign exchange (FX) losses, and growth in its digital and fintech sectors. The subscriber base in Nigeria stabilized at over 84 million, recovering from losses in 2024 due to the NIN-SIM linkage enforcement. Active data users grew by 12 per cent year-on-year, driven by increased adoption of 4G and 5G networks. MTN Nigeria aims to restore profitability and achieve a positive net asset position within the current financial year, while increasing investments to improve network and service quality.

Service revenue for MTN Nigeria in Q1 rose by 32.5 per cent to ₦752.98 billion ($579.22 million), while total revenue reached ₦1.06 trillion. EBITDA increased by 66 per cent, and operating profit surged by 97 per cent, indicating improved operational efficiency.

In South Africa, MTN's largest operating subsidiary outside Nigeria, the market continued to navigate competitive challenges, particularly in prepaid services. Service revenue went up by 2.6 per cent, data revenue increased by 3.9 per cent, and outgoing voice revenue declined by 3.2 per cent. Total subscribers grew by 5.6 per cent to 39.2 million, with post-paid customers up by 6.7 per cent to 4.4 million, attributed to a stronger uptake of integrated voice and data plans, as well as home propositions. Data revenue grew by 3.9 per cent and contributed 48.3 per cent to MTN South Africa’s total service revenue, from 47.7 per cent a year ago. Active data subscribers increased by 6.7 per cent to 21.8 million, with a 19.3 per cent rise in data traffic. Data usage per active prepaid data subscriber grew to nearly 3.8GB/month, up by 14.8 per cent year-on-year, while an average active post-paid data subscriber’s usage increased to 23.7GB/month.

MTN South Africa is focused on recovering its prepaid performance and improving profitability and free cash flow.