MTN Group has announced an increase in its dividends following a year marked by significant financial recovery in 2025. This decision follows a challenging year in 2024, where the devaluation of the Nigerian naira weighed heavily on the group's results.
For the 2025 financial year, MTN declared a dividend of 500 cents per share, a 45% increase compared to the 345 cents of the previous year. This increase exceeds the initial expectations of the board, which had anticipated a minimum of 370 cents. In parallel, the group announced a share buyback program amounting to 6 billion rands (approximately $356 million).
This turnaround is mainly due to strong growth in Nigeria and Ghana. In Nigeria, MTN's largest market, the group recorded an after-tax profit of approximately $773 million, reversing the considerable losses of 2024. This improvement is attributed to tariff adjustments approved by regulators, reduced exchange losses, and sustained demand for data and mobile financial services. In Ghana, service revenues increased by 30%, thanks to the continued expansion of mobile data and fintech services.
Group revenue increased by 22.7% to $12.96 billion, supported by strong growth in data and mobile financial services. The total number of subscribers exceeded 300 million, with notable growth in active data users. EBITDA also climbed by 36.8%.
These results mark the completion of MTN's Ambition 2025 strategy, focused on improving returns and restructuring the group's portfolio. The next phase, Ambition 2030, will focus on expanding connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure across its markets. Despite this recovery, MTN remains cautious about operating conditions, which remain variable across regions.
