MTN Group has seen strong growth in the nine months to September 2026, with service revenue rising 17.2% in constant-currency terms and EBITDA increasing 22.9%, as Africa’s largest mobile operator benefited from recovering momentum in Nigeria, sustained strength in Ghana and rising demand for data services across its markets.
The telecommunications group, which serves 322.9 million customers across 19 markets, said service revenue grew 9.9% on a reported basis to R176.2 billion, while data revenue rose 20.9% to R88.9 billion and now contributes more than half of total service revenue.
EBITDA margins expanded by 2.8 percentage points to 47.9% despite higher energy costs, supported by operating leverage and cost-efficiency initiatives. Free cash flow reached R22.4 billion, while operations upstreamed R21.4 billion to the holding company, up 80% year-on-year.
Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita said growth momentum had returned in Nigeria, Ghana continued to perform strongly and the broader portfolio was contributing more meaningfully to earnings.
Data emerges as MTN’s biggest income generator
Data remained the group’s largest growth engine, with constant-currency revenue increasing 28.2% and accounting for 50.4% of service revenue. Active data subscribers increased 9.6% to 181.7 million, while network traffic grew 27.3% as smartphone penetration reached 66.4%.
Strong performances came from Nigeria, where data revenue increased 35.6%, Ghana where data revenue rose 44.7%, and Côte d’Ivoire, where growth reached 45.4%.
Voice revenue remained resilient, rising 3.4% in constant-currency terms and contributing 26.1% of service revenue, although structural migration to data and digital communication platforms continued to weigh on traditional telephony business.
Enterprise services, wholesale connectivity and digital products also supported revenue growth, while home broadband operations continued expanding through fixed wireless access and fibre offerings.
Nigeria and Ghana lead earnings surge
MTN Nigeria, the group’s largest market, reported service revenue growth of 23.5% and an EBITDA margin of 56.9%, supported by subscriber growth, deeper data adoption and rising broadband demand. Active data users increased to 57.2 million, while voice revenue grew 10.9%.
Digital revenue in Nigeria increased 24.1%, while enterprise revenue grew 6.5%, adding to a broad-based recovery in the business.
MTN Ghana delivered one of the strongest performances in the group, with service revenue growing 33.5%, data revenue increasing 44.7% and mobile money revenue rising 24.4%. EBITDA climbed 40.7% and margins expanded to 61.6%.
The Southern and East Africa region recorded service revenue growth of 19.7%, while the Francophone Africa portfolio achieved 9.4% growth, led by Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon.
Fintech recovers but remains below target
Fintech revenue increased 12.7% in constant currency to R22.6 billion, but growth remained below management’s medium-term targets. Excluding airtime advance, mobile money revenue increased 18.5% and accelerated to 19.9% in the third quarter.
Transaction volumes rose 20.1% to R20.3 billion and transaction values increased 36.9% to US$512.5 billion, highlighting continued growth in the digital payments ecosystem. Monthly active MoMo users increased to 70.3 million.
Advanced fintech services were a standout performer, growing 32.4% and increasing their contribution to overall mobile money revenue. Loan values facilitated through BankTech services jumped 80.1% to US$4.2 billion.
In a major product development, MTN launched a new MoMo platform and super app in Nigeria in partnership with Ant International’s Alipay+ technology platform, aimed at improving customer experience and expanding fintech services.
Challenges weigh on parts of the business
Fintech performance was hindered by three major factors: the temporary suspension of Airtime Advance in Nigeria, lower interest rates on float balances in Ghana and election-related disruption in Uganda. These issues contributed to a decline in fintech margins from 44.3% to 41.7%.
South Africa remained under pressure, with service revenue growth of just 1.0%. Prepaid revenue fell 3.0%, voice revenue declined 10.5%, digital revenue dropped 10.2% and fintech revenue decreased 15.3%.
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Management said affordability constraints, higher fuel prices, weak economic growth and intense competition continued to weigh on consumer spending in South Africa.
Uganda also faced challenges after unauthorised public Wi-Fi resellers diverted data traffic from mobile networks, slowing data revenue growth to 7.8% in the third quarter.
Strategic developments and transactions advance
MTN spent R28.8 billion on capital expenditure during the period, including accelerated investment in Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda. The group also secured new 5G and mobile broadband spectrum licences in Ghana for US$202 million.
The company launched Africa Data Hub Holding, a partnership with a UAE-based investment platform to develop AI-ready, cloud-enabled and carrier-neutral digital infrastructure across Africa, with initial greenfield developments planned for financial year 2027.
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MTN repurchased approximately R2 billion worth of shares under its R6 billion buyback programme and settled a US$500 million Eurobond after the reporting period. Net debt-to-EBITDA remained exceptionally low at 0.2 times.
Management said the planned tower transaction with IHS remains on track after receiving shareholder, Nigerian and COMESA approvals, although South African Competition Tribunal, ECOWAS and CEMAC approvals are still outstanding. Completion is expected before the end of 2026.
Outlook remains positive
The group maintained its medium-term guidance, targeting service revenue growth in the high teens and returns on capital in the high-20% to low-30% range.
Management expects Airtime Advance in Nigeria to return to pre-suspension levels by year-end while fintech growth gradually recovers towards long-term targets.
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MTN also plans to continue investing in data infrastructure, mobile money platforms, broadband connectivity and digital infrastructure assets while maintaining strict cost discipline.
Despite macroeconomic uncertainty across several African markets, the company said structural demand for data, fintech and digital services remains supportive of future growth.
Group CEO Ralph Mupita said MTN’s performance was underpinned by a recovery in Nigeria, where service revenue growth accelerated steadily through the third quarter, and by improving profitability in South Africa, which delivered its strongest earnings quarter of the year as cost interventions gained traction.
He said robust customer demand continued to drive growth across the group, with data revenue rising 28.2% and now accounting for more than half of service revenue.
Mupita acknowledged that fintech growth remained below MTN’s medium-term targets, citing the temporary suspension of airtime advance in Nigeria, lower interest rates on float balances in Ghana and election-related disruptions in Uganda as the main factors weighing on performance.
- MTN Group's service revenue rose 17.2% in constant currency to R176.2 billion for the nine months to September 2026, with data revenue increasing 20.9% and comprising over half of total service revenue.
- Nigeria and Ghana led earnings growth, with Nigeria's service revenue up 23.5% and EBITDA margin at 56.9%, while Ghana's service revenue increased 33.5% and EBITDA margin expanded to 61.6%.
- Fintech revenue grew 12.7% to R22.6 billion but remained below medium-term targets due to factors including the suspension of Airtime Advance in Nigeria and election disruptions in Uganda.
- MTN invested R28.8 billion in capital expenditure, obtained new 5G spectrum licenses in Ghana for US$202 million, launched Africa Data Hub Holding, and continued preparations for a tower transaction with IHS expected to complete by end-2026.
- The group maintained its medium-term guidance targeting high teens service revenue growth and high-20% to low-30% returns on capital, expecting Airtime Advance in Nigeria to recover by year-end and fintech growth to improve gradually.
