MTN Nigeria Reports a Surplus of ₦414 Billion in Its Half-Year Revenue
MTN Nigeria, the leading mobile network operator in the country, has seen significant growth and digital transformation in 2025. The company's capital expenditure more than tripled, reaching ₦565.7 billion, a large portion of which was used for expanding network capacity, rolling out fibre-to-the-home, and launching the first phase of the Dabengwa Tier III Data Centre.
This investment in network infrastructure has supported increased data traffic, with a 41% rise reported in the first half of the year. The company's 4G coverage stands at 82.4%, and efforts are underway to reduce network congestion, ensuring a seamless user experience for the growing number of data users.
MTN Nigeria's active data users climbed to 51 million, a significant increase that has contributed to a surge in data revenue. The company reported a 69.2% increase in data revenue to N1.23 trillion in H1 2025, driven by factors such as active user base growth, price hikes (tariff adjustments), higher smartphone penetration, and increased data consumption.
The company's smartphone penetration stands at 62.6%, up 4.3 percentage points, indicating a growing number of Nigerians are connecting to the digital world through MTN's network. This increase in smartphone penetration has fueled increased data usage, with the average usage per subscriber rising by 26.3% to 13.2GB.
MTN Nigeria's fintech ecosystem is also witnessing renewed momentum. After recalibrating its fintech strategy, the company added around 562,000 fintech customers in Q2 2025 to reach 2.7 million active wallets. The company is enhancing fintech services to attract high-value users.
In line with its commitment to supporting Africa's digital future, MTN launched an accelerator program that provides funding, mentorship, and access to tech infrastructure for African startups. This program has disbursed N100 million in grants and aims to foster Africa’s digital future by supporting cloud-powered innovation and scalable digital solutions.
MTN Nigeria's strong financial performance in 2025 is evident in its impressive results. The company reported a profit after tax of ₦414.9 billion for the first half of the year. Its service revenue increased by 54.6% year-on-year to ₦2.4 trillion, and its EBITDA increased by 119.5% to ₦1.2 trillion, with a margin of 50.6%.
The company has also upgraded its FY 2025 guidance, expecting service revenue and EBITDA margin to grow by at least 50%. Medium-term, MTN aims for 20% annual service revenue growth and an EBITDA margin of up to 55%.
These factors underscore MTN Nigeria's strategic focus on expanding network capacity, leveraging regulatory development, fintech ecosystem growth, innovation support, and operational excellence to drive growth and digital transformation in 2025. The company's results position it as a central actor in Nigeria's digital and financial inclusion agenda.
- In addition to its network capacity expansion, MTN Nigeria is also investing in fintech by enhancing its fintech services to attract high-value users, aiming to further grow its active wallets.
- The telecoms giant is supporting the future of African tech by launching an accelerator program, providing funding, mentorship, and tech infrastructure for African startups, with the goal of fostering scalable digital solutions.
- The sports sector is not left untouched as the growth in smartphone penetration, driven by MTN Nigeria's network, has contributed to increased online sports viewing and betting, potential areas of interest for mobile-focused startups in Nigeria's digital landscape.
