MTN Nigeria Rebounds to N1.1tn Profit as FX Gains, Data Surge Lift Revenue 55%

MTN Nigeria has staged a remarkable comeback, swinging to a massive N1.1 trillion profit after tax in 2025 after suffering a hefty N400.4 billion loss the previous year.

The big turnaround came thanks to steadier foreign exchange rates, tighter control over costs, and explosive growth in data usage that really boosted the top line.

Service revenue jumped 55.1 percent to hit N5.2 trillion for the full year ending December 31, 2025. Data revenue led the charge with a 74.5 percent surge, while fintech income shot up 79.7 percent.

That kind of momentum shows just how hungry Nigerians are for mobile data and digital financial services these days.

EBITDA more than doubled, climbing 108.9 percent to N2.7 trillion, and the EBITDA margin widened by 13.6 percentage points to an impressive 52.7 percent. Those are the kind of numbers that make investors sit up and take notice.

A huge part of the story was the flip in foreign exchange impacts. The company posted a net FX gain of N90.3 billion in 2025, a dramatic reversal from the N925.4 billion loss it took in 2024.

This came after MTN cut back on dollar-based debts and rode a more stable naira, which closed the year at around N1,436 to the dollar, better than the N1,535 level from the end of 2024.

CEO Karl Toriola called 2025 a real turning point, pointing to better overall economic conditions and sharp financial discipline that helped bring back positive retained earnings and shareholders’ equity.

Retained earnings flipped to N400.4 billion positive (from negative N607.5 billion), and shareholders’ equity recovered to N548.7 billion (from negative N458 billion).

Cash flow told an even stronger tale: free cash flow rocketed 215.5 percent to N1.2 trillion. At the same time, capex (excluding leases) more than doubled to N1 trillion, showing the company pouring money into expanding the network, optimizing spectrum, and rolling out more fibre to keep up with surging traffic and deliver better service.

Subscriber numbers grew 7.9 percent to 87.3 million, with active data users up 11.6 percent to 53.2 million. Data traffic on the network rose 34 percent, and average usage per user climbed 20 percent to 13.1 GB. Smartphone penetration hit 66.1 percent.

Voice revenue held firm and grew 42.1 percent, while the fintech side kept gaining ground, as active MoMo wallets expanded 30.8 percent to 3.7 million, backed by a 156 percent increase in customer deposits.

Costs didn’t run away with the growth either. Operating expenses rose just 16.7 percent (well below revenue growth), thanks to efficiency drives and better tower lease deals. Cost of sales went up 30.3 percent, still lagging the topline, which helped those margins expand nicely.

By year-end, MTN Nigeria sat in a net cash position of N104.8 billion, a big improvement from negative N719.5 billion a year earlier. It paid down N434 billion in borrowings and cleared all outstanding commercial papers without taking on fresh debt.

The board recommended a final dividend of N15 per share, making the total payout for the year N20 per share, marking a welcome return to dividends after skipping them in 2024 due to the loss.

Looking forward, management stuck to its medium-term goal of service revenue growth in at least the low 20 percent range on average. They even nudged up EBITDA margin guidance to the mid-to-high 50 percent range, assuming inflation stays in the mid-teens and the exchange rate hovers between N1,400 and N1,700 per dollar.