MTN South Africa Cuts Revenue Outlook As Competition Deepens

MTN South Africa cuts revenue outlook as competition deepens in the country’s mobile market. The company, which is one of the biggest telecom providers in South Africa, has lowered its expectations for making money because it faces tougher competition, even though its business in other African countries is doing better.

MTN South Africa has changed its forecast for service revenue growth. Before, it expected a mid-single-digit growth rate, but now it says it hopes for only low to mid-single-digit growth. This means the company thinks it will earn less from its services over the next few years than it first planned. MTN Group, the parent company, explained that South Africa’s market is very competitive right now, and customers are careful with their money. So, while other parts of Africa show positive news, MTN South Africa is feeling the pressure.

The South African economy itself is growing slowly. At the start of 2025, the country’s growth was really small, just 0.1% in the first quarter. Inflation was low, and interest rates were lowered, which usually helps. But despite this, people didn’t feel confident to spend much during the first half of the year. There was some improvement in confidence in the second quarter, but not enough to make a big difference for MTN South Africa.

MTN South Africa cuts revenue outlook as competition deepens

Because of this, MTN South Africa also lowered its forecast for its earnings margin (Ebitda margin) from a range of 37-39% down to 35-37%. This margin shows how much profit the company makes from its operations.

Looking at the numbers, MTN South Africa’s service revenue grew only by 2.3% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same time last year. Data revenue, which comes from internet services on phones, went up by 4.3%. On the other hand, voice revenue, from phone calls, dropped by 2.2%. Revenue from financial services like MTN Mobile Money also barely grew, by just 2.4%. The only bright spot was the enterprise division, which saw an 11.6% rise in revenue. This part of the business serves other companies and was the only division to grow strongly.

Compared to this, MTN Group’s overall service revenue, including South Africa and the rest of Africa, grew a lot more—22.4%. Data revenue for the group rose by 34%, and fintech revenue increased by 25%, mainly because of a strong improvement in Nigeria, MTN’s biggest market. The group’s profit margin also got better, growing by seven percentage points to 44.2%.

MTN described its South African business as “resilient,” which means it is holding on despite difficulties. But it admitted that competition in South Africa is very tough. Even though the economy showed some signs of getting better, rivals are fighting harder for customers, who are still cautious about spending.

To tackle these challenges, MTN South Africa is focusing more on prepaid customers. Prepaid plans, where people pay for their phone use in advance, often help companies keep steady income. MTN’s CEO, Ralph Mupita, said the company wants to grow this part of the business to help improve revenue and profit margins in the next few years.

There were also changes in leadership at MTN South Africa. The current CEO, Charles Molapisi, will leave his role and go back to head of group technology, a position he held before. Ferdi Moolman, who used to lead MTN’s business in Nigeria, will take over as CEO in South Africa. This change shows that MTN is serious about improving its performance at home.

MTN South Africa cuts revenue outlook as competition gets tougher and local growth stays slow. While the MTN Group does well in other countries, the South African market is challenging. By focusing on prepaid customers and bringing in new leadership, MTN South Africa hopes to grow better in the coming years.

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