Wrap Text
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2026
MTN Group Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1994/009584/06)
(Share code MTN)
(ISIN: ZAE000042164)
(MTN or the Company or the Group or MTN Group)
Quarterly update for the period ended 31 March 2026
MTN is a pan-African mobile operator whose purpose is 'Leading digital
solutions for Africa's progress' We have 312.7 million customers and we
operate 19^ markets.
First quarter (Q1) 2026 key messages
• Sustained commercial momentum across the portfolio driven by Nigeria,
Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon
• Data revenue growth at 36.1% (up 35.4%*) and Fintech revenue growth of
22.4% (up 20.0%*)
• Strong financial delivery with service revenue growth of 20.0% (up
21.1%* in constant currency) and EBITDA margin expansion to 47.6%*
(+3.0pp)
• Balance sheet strong with Group leverage at 0.2x and HoldCo liquidity
headroom at R42.6 billion
• Advanced our strategic initiatives in Fintech and progressing with the
IHS transaction
• Remaining focussed on ensuring business resilience during these
uncertain times
Highlights
• Group service revenue increased by 20.0%% (up 21.1%*)
o Data revenue increased by 36.1% (up 35.4%*)
o Voice revenue increased by 1.3% (up 4.7%*)
o Fintech revenue increased by 22.4% (up 20.0%*)
• Total subscribers increased by 5.4 % to 312.7 million
• Active data subscribers up by 8.7 % to 175.6 million
• Active Mobile Money (MoMo) monthly active users (MAU) increased by
8.2% to 67.4 million
• Data traffic increased by 20.2 % to 6 827 Petabytes (PB)
• Fintech transaction volumes increased by 15.8% to 6.3 billion
• Fintech transaction value up by 32.8%* to US$163.0 billion
* Constant currency information after accounting for the impact of the pro
forma adjustments as defined and included throughout this Stock Exchange
News Service of the JSE Limited (JSE) (SENS) announcement.
^ These are the markets we have controlled operations, JV's and
associates that cover any of connectivity, fintech or digital
infrastructure businesses
Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita comments:
Strong start to Ambition 2030 execution
"MTN Group has reported a strong overall performance and resilient
financial results despite an uncertain geopolitical and macro-economic
environment. We have concluded the first quarter of executing on our new
Ambition 2030 strategy solidly with our operations delivering both service
revenue growth and EBITDA margin expansion.
Driven by our purpose of leading digital solutions for Africa's progress,
we invested capex of R9.6 billion to sustain the quality, coverage and
capacity of our networks and to remain the platforms of choice for
consumers, homes and businesses. Capex intensity of 16.4% was in line with
prior period levels.
A more supportive macroeconomic and foreign exchange backdrop in key
markets like Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda supported accelerated investment to
meet robust demand and to capture the future opportunities we have
identified.
While the average exchange rates of the currencies of most of our markets
were weaker against the rand, the average naira was stronger over the
period. Blended inflation for the Group has moderated to average 8.9% in
Q1, from 15.1% a year earlier.
Operational and financial performance
The Group's overall subscriber base increased by 5.4% to 312.7 million, and
the number of active data users jumped by 8.7% to 175.6 million. This
helped propel data traffic more than 20.2% higher in the period to 31 March
2026.
The volume of fintech transactions increased by 15.8% and their value rose
by almost a third (32.8%) to US$163 billion, with the number of MoMo MAU at
67.4 million.
The Group delivered a 21.1%* increase in overall service revenue, led by
sustained commercial execution at MTN Nigeria (41.7%*) MTN Ghana (35.7%*),
MTN Cameroon (14.4%*) and MTN Côte d'Ivoire (18.3%*). Despite the continued
competitive pressure on the prepaid market at MTN South Africa (MTN SA),
service revenue growth edged up by 0.7%.
Data remained the biggest contributor to overall Group service revenue
growth, rising 35.4%*. Voice revenue remained resilient, expanding by
4.7%*, supported by subscriber growth and customer value management
initiatives in key markets.
Group EBITDA increased by 27.9%*, outpacing revenue growth thanks to our
continued focus on expense efficiencies, resulting in a widening of the
Group EBITDA margin by 3.0* percentage points to 47.6%*.
Advancing our strategic initiatives
We continue to transition to our Ambition 2030 strategy, with good progress
in our strategic priorities.
In Connectivity, we continue to drive strong performances in MTN Nigeria
and MTN Ghana while focusing on delivering improvements in MTN SA and
particularly its prepaid business. We remain constructive on improvements
across our broader portfolio with a focus on sustaining the turnarounds and
positive momentum.
We continued the work on the structural separation of our Fintech
businesses in several markets, announcing key regulatory approvals. MTN
Ghana is the first market to announce the completed structural separation
of its fintech business, on 30 March 2026. MTN Nigeria obtained various
governance approvals, and at the MTN Nigeria Annual General Meeting on 30
April 2026, shareholders voted in favour of the structural separation of
MoMo Payment Services Bank Limited and the Y'ello Digital Financial
Services Limited. We await further progress on the Fintech separation in
Uganda with regulatory approvals outstanding.
In Digital Infrastructure, the proposed IHS acquisition, announced in Q1
2026, will position the platform to unlock additional value from its tower
portfolio and strengthen MTN's leadership as the largest and most
comprehensive digital infrastructure provider in Africa. The transaction is
currently progressing through the relevant regulatory and authority
approval processes, and we have today published a separate announcement
regarding the pro forma financial effects of the transaction. We recently
concluded an investment alongside leading global tech investors in ORAN
Development Corporation, which is a pioneer in AI-Native Radio Access
Networks. This is aligned to our strategy, particularly our commitment to
leverage Artificial Intelligence for growth.
Balance sheet and liquidity positions
At the end of the quarter, our Group's net debt/EBITDA leverage ratio of
0.2x was an improvement for our year end ratio and remains well within our
target of a ratio of no more than 1.0x. In the first quarter, we upstreamed
R2.3 billion and sustained healthy HoldCo liquidity headroom of R42.6
billion. Post quarter-end, R2.7 billion of cash was upstreamed from Nigeria
and R5.3 billion was upstreamed from Ghana.
Outlook and priorities
With the start of execution of our Ambition 2030, we remain confident of
the structural demand for data and fintech services that underpins our
investment case.
We continue to monitor the situation around the conflict in the Middle East
and the impact on oil prices and availability, food prices and broader
inflation, as well as foreign exchange rates for our markets. The potential
impacts could continue well beyond any potential end of hostilities.
Increased supply chain and currency volatility have elevated macroeconomic
and execution risks. We remain confident in our ability to deliver against
our strategy, underpinned by our disciplined capital allocation, cost
control and robust risk management processes.
Operationally, we remain focused on maintaining the robust operating
performance in MTN Nigeria and MTN Ghana, as well as accelerating the
encouraging momentum seen in several of our other markets. At MTN SA, we
continue driving initiatives to improve performance, particularly in
prepaid.
In our Fintech platform, we are focused on scaling the ecosystem, deepening
engagement and completing the structural separation of indicated markets in
Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda.
To safeguard the health and flexibility of the Group's financial profile,
we continue to be guided by our capital allocation framework and our
expense efficiency programme. While we continue to monitor the
macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, we have maintained our
medium-term earnings guidance.
Pro forma financial information
For Group, region and by country, as appropriate: Service revenue, revenue by segment, data
revenue, enterprise revenue, wholesale revenue, fintech revenue, digital revenue, voice
revenue; outgoing voice revenue; Group EBITDA (before once-off items); Capex (ex-leases);
EBITDA; EBITDA margin; Adjusted EBITDA as included in this announcement have been prepared to
provide users with a further operational understanding of the business (together, the Non-IFRS
Financial Information). The Non-IFRS Financial Information has been calculated from the
financial records of the Group.
Constant currency information has been presented to remove the impact of movement in currency
rates on the Group's results and has been calculated by translating the prior financial
reporting period's results at the current period's monthly average rates. The measurement has
been performed for each of the Group's currencies, materially being that of the US dollar and
Nigerian naira. The constant currency growth percentage has been calculated after translating
prior year results at current year rates. In addition, in respect of MTN Irancell, MTN Sudan
and MTN South Sudan the constant currency information has been prepared excluding the impact
of hyperinflation. The economies of Sudan, South Sudan and Iran were assessed to be
hyperinflationary for the period under review and hyperinflation accounting was applied.
Constant currency information in this announcement is denoted with an *.
The Non-IFRS Financial Information and Constant currency information is collectively referred
to as "Pro forma Financial Information" and has been prepared for illustrative purposes only.
Because of its nature, the Pro forma Financial Information may not fairly present MTN's
financial position, changes in equity and results of operations or cash flows. The
responsibility for preparing and presenting the Pro forma Financial Information, as well as
the completeness and accuracy of the Pro forma Financial Information is that of the directors
of MTN and has not been audited, reviewed or otherwise reported on by the Group's external
auditors.
Forward-looking information
Any forward-looking information disclosed in this announcement is the responsibility of the
directors of MTN and has not been reviewed or audited or otherwise reported on by our external
auditor.
Other information
The directors of MTN take full responsibility for the preparation of this announcement.
The Group's results are presented in line with the Group's new operational structure. The
Group's underlying operations are clustered as follows: South Africa (SA); Nigeria; Ghana; the
Southern and East Africa (SEA) region; and Francophone Africa and their respective underlying
operations.
The SEA region includes Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, South Sudan, Sudan and Liberia.
The Francophone Africa region includes Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin and Congo-Brazzaville.
The Group also has equity accounted joint ventures in Botswana, Eswatini and Iran, which are
excluded from regional results.
Operational review
Listed Opcos' published Q1 2026 results
The published Q1 results of our listed Opcos can be viewed at:
• MTN Nigeria: https://www.mtn.ng/investors/financial-reporting/
• MTN Ghana: https://mtn.com.gh/investors/financial-results/
• MTN Uganda: https://www.mtn.co.ug/investors/financial-reports/
• MTN Rwanda: https://www.mtn.co.rw/financial-results/
MTN South Africa
• Service revenue increased by 0.7%
• Data revenue increased by 4.9%
• Voice revenue decreased by 9.6%
• Wholesale revenue increased by 6.9%
• Enterprise revenue increased by 5.3%
• Digital revenue decreased by 5.8%
• Fintech revenue decreased by 18.1%
• Reported EBITDA declined by 12.5% with a margin of 32.6% (down
4.1pp). Excluding the effect of movements in the Group share price
on the provision for the MTN SA employee share scheme, the EBITDA
margin was 35.4% (down 2.7pp)
• Capex of R1.5 billion on IFRS 16 reported basis (R1.1 billion, ex-
leases)
MTN SA delivered a mixed performance in Q1 2026, with continued growth in
postpaid, enterprise and data partially offset by the impact of deliberate
actions taken to reset the prepaid base with regards to the contribution
from Xtratime. These actions weighed on short-term revenues but are
intended to improve the sustainability and profitability of the prepaid
business over the medium term. In addition, MTN SA is pleased with its
network leadership which remained a clear differentiator, providing a
strong platform to support customer experience, retention and disciplined
commercial delivery. Overall, the sector continues to experience robust
competition and increasing costs to provide services.
Network leadership sets strong base to accelerate performance
MTN SA was recognised as the MyBroadband Best Mobile Network for the
fourteenth consecutive quarter, reinforcing network leadership as an
enabler of customer experience and disciplined commercial execution.
On the macroeconomic front, the first quarter of 2026 offered a steadier
inflation backdrop, with headline CPI averaging 3.2% over the period.
Monetary policy remained broadly supportive, with the SARB holding the repo
rate at 6.75% throughout Q1 2026 amid elevated global uncertainty. The rand
showed periods of resilience; however, volatility increased toward the end
of March and into April as global risk sentiment deteriorated in response
to geopolitical developments.
MTN SA operational and financial overview
MTN SA recorded YoY service revenue growth of 0.7% during the period under
review, driven by above-inflation performance in the consumer postpaid,
enterprise and wholesale segments. This growth was offset by weaker prepaid
results. The subscriber base expanded by 3.0% to 40.4 million, supported by
ongoing improvements to MTN SA's product offerings, emphasis on enhancing
customer experience and continued optimisation of distribution
capabilities.
The postpaid subscriber base increased by 8.0% YoY to 4.7 million,
supported by strong demand for integrated voice and data offerings. Growth
was further bolstered by the price adjustment implemented in February 2026
and the continued success of data-centric propositions.
Consumer postpaid service revenue increased by 5.5% YoY, signalling
sustained momentum in the segment.
Consumer prepaid subscriber numbers have recovered from their Q4 losses,
growing by 0.7% YoY to 29.3 million. Although consumer prepaid service
revenue declined by 3.3% YoY, it reflects an improvement in momentum on the
Q4 2025 decline of 3.8%. We are seeing encouraging improvement in consumer
prepaid data growth which has increased by 3.8% YoY, from 0.8% in Q4 2025.
This was in line with management strategy to reduce reliance on XTraTime
advances, (which declined 18.3% YoY as a result) and improve the quality
and overall health of the base. This reset is resulting in improvements in
cash recharging customers as well as a significant increase in customers
paying back their advances within the month, boding well for the outlook of
this business.
Data revenue delivered encouraging growth of 4.9% YoY, despite intensified
pricing pressure across the market. The broader data ecosystem continued to
scale, with the active data subscriber base broadly stable at 21.8 million
and network traffic increasing by 29.7% YoY, mainly as growth is driven by
Home and mobile data propositions.
Data performance was underpinned by sustained growth in usage. Average
usage per active postpaid data customer rose by 31.7% YoY to 31.2GB,
supported by continued uptake of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) offerings.
Within the prepaid segment, average monthly consumption increased by 21.8%
to 4.6GB, reflecting higher engagement levels and growing data demand
across the customer base.
The Home subscriber base (FWA and fibre) growth uplift was underpinned by
focussed sales efforts and compelling product propositions, including the
Shesh@5G and MTNAirFibre offerings.
Voice revenue continued to face pressure, declining by 9.6% YoY, largely
reflecting ongoing softness in the consumer prepaid segment. Performance
was further impacted by a 7.2% contraction in consumer postpaid voice
revenue, consistent with the sustained migration by customers towards VoIP
and alternative digital communication services.
Wholesale revenue increased by 6.9% YoY, supported by growth in ICT,
national roaming and data services. This was partly offset by declines in
bulk SMS and interconnect revenues.
The enterprise segment continued to deliver sustained growth, with revenue
increasing by 5.3% YoY. This momentum was underpinned by ongoing demand for
MTN's core mobile enterprise solutions, alongside solid performance in bulk
SMS and ICT services.
Digital services revenue declined by 5.8% YoY, primarily due to reduced
prepaid recharge activity. Performance was weighed down by weaker content
VAS and rich media services revenues, alongside lower contributions from
mobile advertising during the quarter.
Fintech revenue declined by 18.1% YoY, mainly due to a moderation in
XtraTime activity as recharge volumes were lower following actions to
rebalance the portfolio to reduce credit levels and increase cash-based
recharges. This was partly offset by continued growth in the MoMo
ecosystem, underpinned by sustained momentum in InsurTech-related
offerings. MoMo active subscribers grew by a strong 77% YoY.
MTN SA's EBITDA was 12.5% lower, with a margin of 32.6% (down 4.1pp).
Excluding the effect of movements in the Group share price on the provision
for the MTN SA employee share scheme, EBITDA would have declined by 8.3%,
with a margin of 35.4% (down 2.7pp). It was negatively impacted by the
income statement charge accounting for the employee share scheme, slower
topline growth, increased commission costs and higher bad debt in EBU,
online and telesales channels. Cost efficiencies were realised in other
areas of the business to offset these impacts, with expense efficiency
programmes remaining an area of focus.
MTN SA outlook
Looking ahead, MTN SA expects macroeconomic pressure on consumer spending
and competitive dynamics to persist. Against this backdrop, the business
remains firmly focused on executing its existing commercial and cost
efficiency programs to improve performance and strengthen momentum.
In prepaid, the recovery plan remains unchanged and continues to be driven
by the four focus areas: improving channel performance, rejuvenating the
portfolio, resetting credit and actively engaging competition. We have
begun to see early signs of a bottoming out in this business, as the
decline in XtraTime recharges is offset by growth in cash recharges and
remain optimistic of a medium-term recovery to a more sustainable and
profitable prepaid business. Prepaid data growth remains pleasing and we
anticipate maintaining the trajectory over the medium term.
In postpaid and enterprise, price adjustments received early in the year
will continue to support service revenue growth, complemented by continued
growth in data usage and operational improvements pertaining to further
tightening credit vetting.
Home connectivity will remain a key growth engine through 2026, with
ongoing emphasis on scaling FWA and FTTH and improving monetisation through
sharper propositions and commercial execution.
Operationally, MTN SA will continue to prioritise efficiencies and
disciplined execution, including innovative device-financing models,
expanded network-sharing partnerships and targeted actions to reduce costs
across the business.
We remain positive on the medium-term outlook for the MTN SA business. We
see gradual improvement in prepaid as we reset the contribution from
credit-driven recharges and remain confident that the momentum in the
balance of the businesses can be sustained over the medium term. MTN SA
maintains its medium-term targets of low to mid-single-digit service
revenue growth and an EBITDA margin of 35% – 37%.
MTN Nigeria
MTN Nigeria reported a robust Q1 performance on 29 April 2026, underscoring
the strength of execution and the resilience of the business model in a
complex and evolving operating environment. Elevated geopolitical tensions
towards the end of the period drove higher energy prices and renewed
inflationary pressures. Encouragingly, this was partly mitigated by a
relatively stronger naira, which closed at N1,387/US$ (December 2025:
N1,436/US$).
Within this context, MTN Nigeria sustained strong commercial momentum,
maintained disciplined cost management and accelerated investment in the
network, translating strong underlying demand into robust financial
performance and continued value creation. As a result, MTN Nigeria
delivered service revenue growth and EBITDA margin performance in line with
medium-term guidance.
Service revenue rose by 41.7%*, led by data and supported by voice, fintech
and digital services. Although growth was moderated by the base effect of
the price adjustments implemented from mid-Q1 2025, underlying demand
remained strong, and we expect growth to normalise as those adjustments
become fully annualised from Q2 2026.
Data revenue increased by 56.1%*, supported by higher traffic, more data
subscribers, increased smartphone penetration and higher usage. Voice
revenue grew by 22.4%*, supported by subscriber growth and targeted CVM
initiatives.
Fintech revenue increased by 77.8%*, supported by higher deposit balances,
stronger adoption of advanced services and increased interest income.
Despite a challenging cost environment, strong operational discipline kept
operating expenses well contained, delivering meaningful operating
leverage. EBITDA increased by 67.7%*, and the EBITDA margin expanded by
8.7pp* to 55.3%*.
MTN Ghana
MTN Ghana released its Q1 trading update on 28 April 2026 with its
performance delivered against a more supportive Ghanaian macroeconomic
backdrop as inflation eased sharply to an average of 3.5% in the quarter
(from 23.0% in Q1 2025) and improved business confidence offsetting
continued global geopolitical uncertainty. The results reflected
disciplined execution of strategic priorities, underpinned by a continued
focus on enhancing customer value, network resilience and service
excellence. MTN Ghana's performance was driven by sustained momentum across
data, Mobile Money, voice and digital services, supported by ongoing
investments in network capacity, platform innovation and growth in
ecosystem partnerships.
Against this backdrop, disciplined execution of commercial priorities
across connectivity, Mobile Money and digital services drove strong top-
line momentum, with service revenue increasing 35.7%* YoY and despite a
3.7%* decline in voice revenue. Fintech revenue for MTN Ghana increased by
29.4%*, driven by growth in both basic and advanced services and a 4.0%
increase in active users. Data revenue grew 52.3%* in the period
underpinned by sustained growth in active data customers and usage.
Combined with tight cost control, this translated into EBITDA growth of
42.9%* YoY, with margins expanding by 3.1pp* to 61.2%*, underlining strong
operating leverage and efficiency.
MTN Southern and East Africa (SEA) region
The SEA region delivered service revenue growth of 19.0%*, led by increases
in Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, South Sudan and Rwanda and well ahead of average
inflation of 18.1%*. Regional service revenue growth of 19.0%* was driven
by continued double-digit gains in data (up 30.0%*) and voice (up 14.1%*)
revenues, with Fintech up 12.7%* YoY. Fintech comprises 28.2%* of service
revenues for SEA while data now makes up 33.2%*. Subscribers ended the
quarter at 50.2 million, up 5.1 million versus Q1 2025. Average data
subscribers rose 18.6% to 22.0 million.
MTN Uganda reported its Q1 results on 7 May 2026, with service revenue
growth of 7.6%* anchored by the growth in data (+13.6%*) and fintech
(+7.3%*) segments in the period. Operations in the quarter were partially
hampered by the internet shutdown during the national general elections in
January 2026 which affected provision of data and mobile money services and
onboarding of customers in the period. Normalising for the impact of the
election shutdown, service revenue growth for MTN Uganda would have
increased 11.5%* YoY. There were also challenges in trade as a new rewards
model for mobile money eco system partners were implemented. During the
period all mobile telecommunication operators were instructed by the Uganda
Communications Commission (UCC), post costing and market definition studies
to reduce Mobile Termination Rates (MTR), effective 15 January 2026. The
UCC adopted a glide-path approach, allowing for a gradual reduction of
applicable rates over the medium term. For 2026, the MTR has been set at
Ush 22.5 per voice termination across all networks from Ush 26.0 in 2025.
While this reduction impacted on our outgoing voice revenues, the business
benefited from lower cost of sales on incoming voice calls. Despite these
intra-period disruptions, subscribers grew to 24.5 million and MoMo active
daily users increased to 14.2 million.
EBITDA for MTN Uganda rose by 4.2%*, driven by cost control despite forex
and energy and utilities inflation pressures and benefiting from reduced
interconnect costs as a result of the MTR reduction. The EBITDA margin
decreased by 1.8pp* pp to 50.6%*, but is in line with MTN Uganda medium-
term guidance of 50%.
MTN Rwanda reported solid commercial momentum in Q1, with subscribers
rising 10.6% YoY and active data subscribers up 19.6% YoY. This translated
into a strong improvement in financial performance, driven by growth across
both connectivity and fintech platforms. Service revenue grew 21.1%* YoY
with the EBITDA margin at 41.5%*.
MTN Sudan is benefiting from improved stability and gradual normalisation,
despite currency weakness and inflationary pressures. Service revenue was
up 188.4%* for the quarter. While we remain cautious on the outlook for the
region given ongoing conflict, we are encouraged by our strong market
position.
Francophone Africa
Service revenue growth of 8.7%* in the Francophone Africa region was well
ahead of the regions blended average inflation rate of 2.3%, with regional
inflation moderating for the period. Growth was driven by data (+8.9%*) and
fintech (+153.5%*). EBITDA for the region increased by 21.4%* with EBITDA
margins expanding to 37.5%* (up 3.8pp*).
Total subscribers in MTN Francophone Africa declined by 1.5% to 39.6
million subscribers. Active data subscribers increased by 9.5% to 22.0
million while MoMo MAU was down by 0.8% to 17.4 million.
MTN Cameroon delivered service revenue growth of 14.4%* in Q1 2026, driven
by strong growth in data and fintech. While regulatory challenges remain,
the market leading position combined with solid execution and cost control
delivered EBITDA growth of 16.9%* with EBITDA margins expanding 1.0pp* to
44.2%*.
Recovery in both subscriber numbers and revenues continued in MTN Côte
d'Ivoire in Q1 driving service revenue growth 18.3%* higher. While
competition remains fierce, MTN Côte d'Ivoire has grown its market share
and continues to deliver growth in data (+50.1%*). EBITDA increased by
45.7%* with EBITDA margins improving to 41.9%* up 7.9pp*.
Scaling our platforms
Fintech
Fintech revenue increased by 20.0%* YoY underpinned by strong advanced
services growth recorded in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda and Cameroon. MoMo
grew by 19.2%*, reflecting a steady expansion of basic services revenue (up
10.8%*) and a robust increase in advanced services revenue of 36.7%*. The
contribution of advanced services to total MoMo revenue (excluding airtime
advance) rose to 37.2% (up 4.8pp YoY).
MoMo MAU increased by 8.2% YoY closing at 67.4 million; strong growth
recorded in Nigeria mainly driven by product improvement. We also saw solid
growth across the rest of the markets, driven by the modernisation of our
field and digital customer engagement tools. Active agents closed with a
footprint of 1.4 million, recording a strong growth of 12.5% YoY, boosted
by the launch of our in-house digital sales tool in six markets and the
improvement of our agent commissioning model.
Active merchants increased by 14.2% to 2.2 million, reflecting our focus on
quality growth, supported by improved retention activities and a segmented
approach to managing and deepening relationships with high-value merchants.
We are pleased with overall development of our fintech ecosystem, with a
15.8% increase in transaction volumes to 6.3 billion and transaction value
up by 32.8%* to US$163 billion.
The momentum in our payments and e-commerce vertical accelerated. Merchant
payment value growth of 21.0%* to US$6.3 billion was driven by a
combination of growth in unique payers, increased transaction frequency and
higher average transactions values as we continue to optimise our key
account portfolio and ecosystem expansion.
Our strategic partnership with Mastercard continued to progress during the
quarter. Virtual card by MoMo remains live across key markets, with almost
700k cards in issue in Q1 2026 and over $14million in Gross Dollar Volume
year-to-date across Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia
and Benin . Cameroon accounted for a meaningful share of recent momentum,
reflecting targeted market activation and growing customer familiarity with
card-based use cases.
In BankTech, total loan value facilitated reached US$1.23 billion,
representing a 70.84%* YoY increase. This growth was primarily driven by
higher utilisation within both marketplace lending and MoMo
advance programme in our more mature markets Uganda and Ghana. Momentum was
sustained across other operating markets, supported by new product launches
in Rwanda and targeted utilisation campaigns in Zambia, Cameroon and Congo-
Brazzaville, reinforcing continued adoption and scale across the footprint.
Remittance showed 6.8%* YoY growth for Q1 2026, a strong underlying
performance of formal routes. The combination of key partnerships with the
biggest International Money Transfer Operators and our in-house remittance
management tool delivered cross border remittances of US$1.71 billion
across all markets.
In InsurTech, revenue growth was supported by an increase in active
products in Ghana and the Investa product in Uganda. We continued to drive
growth in high-priority markets focusing on achieving sustainable growth.
During Q1 2026, we launched a new wealth product in Ghana that allows
customers to invest directly in a money market fund. Our savings product in
Ghana recorded strong growth.
MTN Digital Infrastructure
MTN Digital Infrastructure delivered a resilient performance over the
period, generating R1.2 billion in consolidated external revenue despite
lower international voice traffic and persistent local currency volatility.
EBITDA increased by 0.7%* to R368 million, supported by an improved revenue
mix and disciplined cost-optimisation efforts.
The Fibre segment delivered strong external revenue growth of 34.6%*,
driven by new fixed-connectivity infrastructure contracts, contributions
from newly launched FibreCos, ongoing network expansion and improved
service delivery. Fibre rollout continued to accelerate across the
footprint, including progress along the East African Corridor and the
commencement of the East-to-West fibre programme in partnership with
Africa50.
External revenue for the Communication Platforms segment declined by 15.1%,
due to reduced international voice traffic and a decline in the messaging
revenue stream. The Business continues to explore new strategic
partnerships to strengthen our market position and unlock value across core
business areas.
Update on the IHS transaction
MTN Group announced the acquisition of the remaining shares in IHS which it
does not own on 17 February 2026. We have released the voluntary pro forma
financial effects of the transaction as previously advised, and these are
now available on our website (https://www.mtn.com/investors-
shareholders/?tablink=presentations-and-transcripts). The transaction
finalisation is ongoing.
Outlook
Looking ahead, we remain resolute in our work of leading digital solutions
for Africa's progress and creating shared value for our stakeholders. By
executing on our Ambition 2030 strategic priorities, we are focused on
delivering on our medium-term guidance.
We are cognisant of the heightened risks to the macroeconomic environment
arising from escalating geopolitical developments, including in the Middle
East. We remain vigilant to these evolving risks and we will continue to
maintain disciplined capital allocation and execute on our strategy.
Accelerating our operations
We will continue to focus on the commercial interventions to accelerate the
recovery in MTN SA's performance. We see gradual improvement in prepaid as
we reset the contribution from credit-driven recharges and remain confident
that the momentum in the balance of the businesses can be sustained over
the medium term. MTN SA maintains its medium-term targets of low to mid-
single digit service revenue growth and an EBITDA margin of 35% – 37%.
MTN Nigeria continues to prioritise targeted network investment to support
growth and further enhance the quality of experience, while maintaining its
sharp focus on cost discipline, capital efficiency and balance sheet
strength. The business continues to monitor developments in the operating
environment, including energy price volatility and regulatory dynamics. MTN
Nigeria has maintained its medium-term guidance, with average service
revenue growth of "at least the low 20%", as the base effect of 2025 price
adjustments are fully annualised by Q2 2026. The mid-to-high-50% EBITDA
margin target range is unchanged, with guidance for MTN Nigeria based on
prevailing macroeconomic assumptions, including average inflation remaining
within the mid-teens and exchange rates in the N1 ,400 – 1 700/US$ range.
MTN Ghana remains focused on the disciplined execution of its commercial
initiatives, operational efficiency and value-based capital allocation.
While medium-term guidance remains unchanged, the team continues to monitor
moderating Ghana inflation and knock-on impact of global geopolitics.
In the rest of our markets, we will continue to focus on sustaining the
turnarounds and positive momentum in various Opcos.
To drive growth and strategic delivery, as well as navigate volatility in
our operating environment, we continue to safeguard the health and
flexibility of our balance sheet and liquidity position. This is guided by
our disciplined capital allocation framework with the following priorities:
organic growth; a healthy financial profile; shareholder remuneration; and
value-accretive inorganic opportunities.
We retain our medium-term guidance, which targets service revenue growth of
'at least high-teens' for MTN Group; 'low to mid-single digits' for MTN
South Africa; 'at least low-20%' for MTN Nigeria; and 'high-20% to low-30%'
for Fintech. It also guides for a return on capital employed of 'high-20%
to 'low-30%' and a Group leverage ratio of '1.0x or lower'.
MTN will host a capital markets day on 10 and 11 June 2026 in Johannesburg
where we will unpack our Ambition 2030 strategy in detail.
Q1 2026 trading update teleconference
MTN will be hosting a teleconference today, Tuesday 12 May 2026, where we
will be unpacking the Group's trading update for the quarter ended 31 March
2026. To participate, please register here:
https://presentations.corpcam.com/PreRegPage.aspx?id=MTN12052026
12 May 2026
Fairland
Lead sponsor
Tamela Holdings Proprietary Limited
Joint sponsor
J.P. Morgan Equities (SA) Proprietary Limited
Abbreviations
CPI Consumer price index
CVM Customer value management
EBITDA Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation
EBU Enterprise business unit
FTTH Fibre to the Home
FWA Fixed wireless access
GB Gigabyte
HoldCo Holding Company
ICT Information and communications technology
JV Joint venture
OpCo Operating company
PB Petabyte
PSB Payment service bank
SARB South African Reserve Bank
SMS Short message service
VAS Value-added services
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
YTD Year-to-date
YoY Year-on-year
Date: 12-05-2026 07:05:00
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