MTN revenue rises 17.2% as Nigeria and Ghana drive growth

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 09 November 2026; 1283 views

MTN Group increased service revenue by 17.2% to ZAR176.2 billion (US$10.7 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, with growth accelerating through the third quarter and earnings rising faster than revenue.

The group’s service revenue growth reached 18.1% in September, while third-quarter revenue increased by 16.6%. EBITDA rose by 22.9% to ZAR86 billion, with the EBITDA margin expanding by 2.8 percentage points to 47.9%. Third-quarter EBITDA was up 20.1%.

MTN attributed the performance to strong demand for data and connectivity, continued growth in Nigeria and Ghana, and improving contributions from other markets, including Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.

MTN Nigeria’s service revenue growth accelerated to 19.7% in the third quarter, from 13.2% in the second quarter, reaching 21.6% in September. EBITDA increased by 32.8%, supported by stronger revenue and cost management. The restoration of its Airtime Advance service also supported an improving commercial performance.

In Ghana, service revenue rose by 35.7% in the third quarter, while EBITDA increased by 42.1%. Growth was broad-based across data, voice, digital services and Mobile Money.
MTN South Africa recorded its strongest earnings quarter of the year, with third-quarter EBITDA up 7% and its margin expanding by 3.6 percentage points to 38.1%. However, service revenue was flat in the quarter and increased by just 1% over the first nine months, reflecting pressure on prepaid voice revenue and lower mobile termination rates.

The group said data revenue improved during the quarter, but it remained focused on converting that progress into sustained overall revenue growth.

Fintech revenue also improved. Excluding Airtime Advance, MoMo revenue increased by 18.5% in the first nine months and 19.9% in the third quarter. Advanced services grew by 32.4%, while fintech transaction value rose by 36.9% to US$512.5 billion. MTN said overall fintech growth remained below its medium-term target, with efforts focused on restoring Airtime Advance in Nigeria and expanding advanced services.

At the end of September, MTN had 323 million customers, including 181.7 million active data subscribers and 70.3 million active Mobile Money users. Data traffic increased by 27.3% to 22,754 petabytes.

Free cash flow rose to ZAR22.4 billion, while ZAR21.4 billion was transferred to the group holding company during the period. Net debt-to-EBITDA stood at 0.2 times.
MTN also bought back ZAR2 billions of shares under its ZAR6 billion buyback programme.

The proposed acquisition of IHS Holdings remains on track for completion before the end of 2026. MTN has secured approval from IHS shareholders and regulatory clearance in Nigeria and from COMESA, with other regulatory processes ongoing.

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said the third quarter was the group’s strongest of 2026, with revenue growth accelerating and EBITDA continuing to outpace revenue. He said the group would focus on sustaining growth in its major markets, improving revenue momentum in South Africa, expanding fintech and completing the IHS transaction