MTN Nigeria posts N546 billion profit in first quarter, revenue hits record N1.49 trillion

The strong revenue performance significantly increased profitability and operating leverage.

Earnings per share (EPS) rose 166% to N16.95, representing almost 30% of the company’s full-year 2025 EPS. If sustained, analysts predict that annualized EPS could reach about N67.80 in 2026, about 30% higher than last year’s figure.

CEO Karl Toriola attributed the strong results to disciplined cost management and operational efficiency.

A notable contributor to profitability was a net foreign exchange profit of N33.3 billion, compared to a loss of N5.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.

Finance costs remained broadly stable, increasing marginally by 0.98%, aided by a 25% reduction in total borrowings to 315 billion naira following a repayment of 154 billion naira.

Data revenue increased 56.2%, supported by a 9.5% increase in active data users, a 5.5 percentage point increase in smartphone penetration to 66.2%, and higher usage.

Data traffic increased by 22.9%, while average usage per subscriber increased by 12.3% to 14.3GB. Voice revenue grew 22.5%, driven by subscriber growth and targeted customer value management.