MTN Group has recorded $10.7bn in service revenue for the first nine months of 2026, with stronger performances in Nigeria and Ghana helping the telecommunications giant overcome weaker growth in its South African operations.
The Johannesburg-based telecoms company reported a 9.9 per cent increase in service revenue to R176.2bn between January and September, while growth reached 17.2 per cent when exchange rate movements were excluded. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 22.9 per cent in constant currency to R86bn, lifting its profit margin to 47.9 per cent.
Brandspur Brand News reports that MTN’s latest results highlight the growing importance of African markets such as Nigeria, where increasing demand for mobile internet services is reshaping the company’s revenue structure.
Data has become MTN Group’s largest source of service revenue, generating R88.9bn, equivalent to approximately $5.4bn, during the nine-month period. The figure represents a 20.9 per cent increase in reported terms and 28.2 per cent growth in constant currency.
Data services now account for 50.4 per cent of the group’s service revenue, surpassing traditional voice services, which generated R46bn, down 3.1 per cent from the corresponding period last year.
The shift reflects changing consumer behaviour across MTN’s markets, as more subscribers rely on mobile internet for communication, entertainment, business transactions and other daily activities.
MTN’s active data subscribers increased by 9.6 per cent to 181.7 million, while total data traffic climbed by 27.3 per cent to 22,754 petabytes.
Nigeria contributed significantly to the group’s performance. MTN Nigeria recorded a 23.7 per cent increase in service revenue to N4.6tn for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, according to its October 30 results.
The Nigerian subsidiary also reported stronger momentum in the third quarter, with service revenue growth recovering to 19.7 per cent. Its year-on-year growth reached 21.6 per cent in September.
Active data subscribers in Nigeria rose by 12 per cent to 57.2 million, while data revenue increased by 35.8 per cent, underscoring the country’s importance to MTN’s expanding digital services business.
Ghana also delivered strong results, recording a 33.5 per cent increase in service revenue to GH₵23.2bn. Its active data subscriber base reached 22 million, while data revenue grew by 44.7 per cent.
The performances in Nigeria and Ghana helped offset slower growth in some of MTN’s more established markets.
Beyond telecommunications, MTN continued to expand its financial technology business, which generated R22.6bn in revenue, representing 12.7 per cent growth in constant currency.
Monthly active Mobile Money users increased by 9.3 per cent to 70.3 million, while the value of fintech transactions rose by 36.9 per cent to R512.5bn.
However, the fintech business faced challenges, including the temporary suspension of airtime and data lending services in Nigeria during the second quarter, lower interest rates on mobile money balances in Ghana and election-related disruptions in Uganda.
MTN said it was working to restore airtime lending in Nigeria through a new multi-partner model.
The group invested R28.8bn, approximately $1.75bn, in capital expenditure during the nine months, with spending directed towards expanding network coverage and capacity in markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda.
The investment comes as rising data consumption places increasing pressure on telecoms operators to improve network quality and expand infrastructure, particularly in markets where demand for mobile connectivity continues to grow.
