MTN Q1 profit jump 20.6% on data, fintech

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MTN Uganda reported a 20.6% rise profit after tax to sh180.9b in the first quarter of 2025 compared to Q1 in 2024 driven by growth in data and mobile financial services, the company said in its unaudited financial results released on Wednesday.

Total revenues for the review period grew to sh847b compared to sh750b. MTN Uganda’s subscriber base expanded 14.6% to 22.8 million, while active data users surged 19.4% to 10.2 million. Fintech transaction volume rose 19.9% to 1.2 billion with transaction value up 23.9% to sh42 trillion.

The telecom operator said its profit growth to cost discipline and diversification into high-margin segments, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rising 13.7% to sh444b.

EBITDA margin improved slightly to 52.4%, supported by lower interconnect costs and stable inflation.

MTN CEO Sylvia Mulinge said strategic investments in network upgrades, smartphone affordability programs, and partnerships with firms such as Mastercard strengthened resilience amid regulatory headwinds.

The company reduced net debt by 2.4% to sh 1.12 trillion and maintained capital expenditure at sh118.6b focusing on 4G and 5G expansion.

“Our investment of sh118.6b was focused on network densification to improve coverage and quality of service for our customers. During the quarter, MTN Group and Airtel Africa entered into network sharing agreements to maximize network infrastructure,” she said in a statement.

“These agreements are targeted at improving our network cost efficiencies, expanding our geographical coverage in line with the NTO license requirement and addressing our customer user experience, particularly in remote areas with less coverage. As we close the geographical coverage gaps, co-investment with Airtel Uganda will further improve network redundancy and enable better capital allocation over the next few years.”

Earnings per share climbed to sh8.1 from sh6.7 a year earlier, while service revenue grew 13.5% to sh841.4b supported by a 32.5% jump in data revenue and an 18.4% increase in fintech income. Voice revenue, impacted by regulatory cuts to mobile termination rates, edged up just 1.5%.