MTN Nigeria Gains N1.1 Trillion Profit in 2025, Bouncing Back Strong from 2024 Losses

MTN Nigeria has made a stunning comeback, reporting a massive profit of N1.1 trillion for the full year ended December 31, 2025. This profit after tax marks a huge 377.9% jump from the N400.4 billion loss the company faced in 2024. The financial results, shared on the Nigerian Stock Exchange last Thursday evening, have restored MTN’s retained earnings and strengthened shareholders’ equity.

Unlike the tough economic challenges of 2024, this year’s success came from key boosts. A 50% tariff hike played a big role, along with the naira’s stronger value against the dollar, averaging N1,436 per dollar compared to N1,535 in 2024. Tighter money policies also cut headline inflation to 15.2%, thanks to updates in the consumer price index. On top of that, MTN’s tower lease deals added extra income, including a three-year spectrum lease with T2mobile (formerly 9mobile) signed in October as part of a national roaming pact. The year was such a win that MTN restarted dividend payments to shareholders.

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CEO Karl Toriola praised the team’s efforts, saying, “These results were delivered through excellent commercial execution, commitment to operational efficiency and disciplined capital allocation, underpinned by a supportive macroeconomic environment.”

Service revenue soared 55.1% to N5.17 trillion, driven mainly by data and voice services. Data revenue jumped 74.5% to N2.8 trillion, while voice revenue rose 42.1% to N1.9 trillion. The company’s total subscribers grew 7.9% to 87.3 million. Active data users climbed 11.6% to 53.2 million, reflecting rising smartphone use across Nigeria. Data traffic surged 34%, and each user’s average data consumption increased 20% to 13.1GB per month. MTN also improved 4G coverage by 2.1 percentage points to 84.6% of the population.

Home broadband services fueled much of this data boom. These include fixed wireless access and fibre-to-the-home options, now serving 4.2 million customers after adding 1 million new ones in 2025. MTN’s Fintech unit, MoMo PSB, saw revenue grow 79.7% to N191.3 billion, thanks to more interest from customer deposits. Active MoMo users hit 3.7 million, with plans to expand into remote areas for deeper financial access.

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Other services brought in N249.7 billion, while non-service revenue from devices and SIM sales reached N30.5 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) more than doubled, up 108.9% to N2.7 trillion, pushing the EBITDA margin to 52.7%, a 13.6 percentage point gain. Operating expenses totaled N1.8 trillion, with cost of sales at N688.3 billion. MTN ramped up infrastructure spending to N1 trillion, double the N443.5 billion from 2024, to boost network quality amid the tariff changes. The company also paid N878.7 billion in taxes and levies.

Looking ahead, MTN Nigeria feels positive about 2026, focusing on “disciplined execution.” Nigeria’s economy shows signs of recovery, with falling interest rates and inflation. The firm expects steady data growth from scaling home broadband like FTTH and FWA. “We will balance cost, feasibility, demand and execution speed to deliver best-in-class connectivity at scale,” MTN stated. It plans to sign up more users to MoMo for financial inclusion and economic growth nationwide. By the second quarter of 2026, when the tariff hike marks its first anniversary, MTN anticipates at least 20% growth in average service revenue as the full benefits kick in.

This turnaround highlights MTN’s smart strategies and Nigeria’s improving business climate, setting the stage for more innovation in telecoms and fintech.

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