MTN Group has reported its strongest financial performance in years, closing 2025 with group service revenue of R218 billion, a near 25% increase year on year, as the telecoms giant simultaneously unveiled a new five-year strategic framework it called Ambition 2030.
The results, released on March 16, 2026, showed the group crossing the 300 million subscriber mark for the first time, ending the year with more than 307 million voice customers, 172 million data subscribers, and 70 million Mobile Money (MoMo) customers across 16 markets. The milestone arrived in the final year of the group’s outgoing Ambition 2025 strategy.
Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita described the outcome as a validation of the group’s commercial discipline and infrastructure investment. “In the final year of our Ambition 2025 strategy, we were proud to have exceeded the 300 million customers milestone in line with our priority to deepen digital and financial inclusion,” he said.
MTN Nigeria and MTN Ghana were the standout contributors to group performance. In constant currency terms, MTN Nigeria grew service revenue by 54.9% and MTN Ghana by 35.9%, reflecting the benefit of currency stabilisation in both markets following sustained macroeconomic turbulence in preceding years. MTN South Africa recorded a more modest 2.0% increase in service revenue, consistent with the dynamics of a mature and competitive telecommunications market.
Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EITA), excluding once-off items, reached R98.5 billion, up by more than a third in constant currency terms. The group achieved R3.6 billion in expense efficiencies during the year. Basic earnings per share (EPS) recovered from a loss in 2024 to a profit in 2025, and adjusted headline EPS rose 67%.
The board declared a final dividend of 500 cents per share, up sharply from 345 cents in 2024 and ahead of the 370 cents minimum the directors had guided. MTN also announced a R6 billion share buyback programme as part of an enhanced shareholder remuneration framework.
Data consumption continued its upward trajectory, with group data traffic growing 27% and average monthly usage per customer rising to 12.5 gigabytes from 10.8 gigabytes. On the fintech side, transaction volumes grew 15% to exceed 23 billion for the year, with total transaction value surpassing US$500 billion. The group invested R38 billion in network and platform infrastructure during the year, expanding broadband coverage to more than 94% of the population it serves and cutting the average cost of data by 14%.
MTN said its social and economic value contribution across Africa reached approximately R150 billion, and that its reputation and trust metrics hit their highest levels since the launch of the group’s Reputation Index Survey in 2019.
Looking ahead, Ambition 2030 organises MTN’s commercial execution around three platforms: Connectivity, Fintech, and Digital Infrastructure, with artificial intelligence positioned as a cross-cutting growth lever. Mupita said the framework was designed to capture structural opportunities created by accelerating data adoption and expanding financial inclusion across the continent.
MTN Group is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) under the ticker MTN.
