MTN Nigeria Grows Profit by 245%, Declares Interim Dividend
Telecommunication giant MTN Nigeria Plc profit grew by more than 245% year on year to N750.185 billion in the third quarter from about N515 billion lost after tax in the equivalent period.
After a long holiday for dividend payment, MTN Nigeria’s board of directors declared an interim profit distribution of N5 per ordinary share payment to shareholders.
Details from its 9-Month financials showed that the telecom company’s total revenue increased by 57.4% year on year to N3.731 trillion from N2.370 trillion in the comparable period in 2024.
Breakdown showed that data revenue surged by 73.2% year on year to N1.977 trillion from N1.141 trillion. MTN Nigeria explained that Data revenue surge was driven by growth in usage and the active user base, higher data traffic and price adjustments.
“This growth was supported by our customer value management initiatives and ongoing investments in network capacity, along with higher smartphone penetration. Data traffic grew by 36.3%, while the average usage per subscriber rose by 20.8% YoY, reaching 13.2GB.
“Smartphone penetration improved to 65.1%, underpinning the rising demand for high-speed connectivity and positioning us to capture greater value as digital engagements deepen.
“4G population coverage was relatively stable at approximately 82%, as efforts continued to focus on capacity enhancement to reduce congestion in the network.
“Our home broadband business is gaining strong traction, adding 281k subscribers in Q3 and expanding the base to 4 million. This reflects the growing demand for high-speed connectivity and the relevance of our FWA and fibre solutions.
“We accelerated fibre deployment to deliver ultra-fast broadband to households while easing pressure on our mobile network. These initiatives position MTN Nigeria to capture significant long-term value in a rapidly evolving digital economy.”
The telecom company’s voice revenue increased by 41.9% to N1.347 trillion from N949 billion 12 months earlier, driven by a growing subscriber base, price adjustments and the continued focus on customer value management initiatives.
MTN said this performance was further aided by relatively lower price elasticity, helping sustain momentum in the voice segment and reinforcing its relevance within our diversified portfolio.
Revenue from digital service surged by 41.9% to N71.193 billion, while fintech turnover expanded by 72.5% to N131.616 billion at the same time. “Our digital services business delivered strong revenue growth of 41.9%, despite temporary impacts from platform optimisation initiatives.
“Demand for rich media content and an improved user experience continued to drive performance. This was bolstered by higher engagement levels and targeted content offerings,” the company said.
Fintech revenue rose by 72.5%, supported by higher interest income from deposits, continued growth in advanced services, and onboarding high-value customers. Customer deposits increased by 80.5% compared to December 2024. Following a comprehensive revamp of our customer acquisition strategy, active wallets expanded to 2.9 million in September 2025.
MTN Nigeria reported that its non-service revenue of the telecom company rose by 43.6% year on year to N22.757 billion. The telecom company expenses advanced by 20.2% year on year to N1.814 trillion, with earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation up by 123% to N1.918 trillion.
Reversing the previous trend, MTN Nigeria recorded a 106.1% year on year surge in net foreign exchange gain, which settled at N55.579 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2025.
The telecom company’s profit before tax came at N1.126 trillion in the third quarter, up by 257.8% year on year from a loss of N713.630 billion in the comparable period in 2024.
The telecom company profit after tax rose to N750.2 billion, compared to a loss after tax of N514.9 billion in the same period last year. This marked turnaround underscores the enhanced quality of our earnings and the turnaround in MTN Nigeria’s financial position.
However, capital expenditure declined by 8.7%. The scale-back was attributed to the effects of the lease modifications in the prior year, following the extension of our tower lease contracts with IHS Towers.
MTN said excluding leases, capex increased by 248.0%, resulting in a 20.3% capex intensity. Investments were directed toward capacity expansion to ease congestion, deployment of additional sites to extend coverage, rollout of our fibre-to-the-home network and development of a new data centre.
“These proactive investments reinforce our commitment to network capacity and quality of experience. We expect capex intensity to moderate further in Q4, aligning with our full-year guidance.
“Despite the elevated capex, we delivered a positive free cash flow of N742.6 billion, underscoring disciplined capital allocation and the strength of our underlying cash generation. This positions us well to sustain growth while preserving financial flexibility,” MTN said.
In a disclosure, the management said sn Interim dividend of N5 per 2 kobo ordinary share has been approved by the Board of Directors of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, subject to appropriate deduction of withholding tax.
The amount will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at the close of business on 20 November 2025, details from regulatory disclosure stated. GTCO Profit Falls by 35.5%, Q3 Earnings Disappoint as Costs Spike
