MTN Group sees financial recovery as Nigeria and Ghana emerge as major contributors to the South African telecom giant’s cash generation thereby helping restore funds flowing back to its Johannesburg headquarters.
The development comes as MTN reported a strong first-half performance for 2026, with service revenue rising 17.5 percent year-on-year to R115.3 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before once-off items increased by almost a quarter to R56 billion.
MTN received R13.9 billion in cash from its operating subsidiaries during the first six months of 2026, up from R8.2 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Ghana accounted for R6.6 billion of the cash upstreamed to the group, while Nigeria contributed R2.7 billion. Together, the two West African markets supplied about 67 percent of the cash returned to Johannesburg.
The shift highlights the growing importance of MTN’s West African businesses to the group’s financial performance.
Nigeria returns to the centre of MTN’s recovery
Nigeria has become important to MTN’s turnaround after a difficult period marked by naira depreciation, foreign-exchange shortages and rising operating costs.
MTN Nigeria returned to profitability in 2025, posting a profit after tax of about $812 million, compared with a $295 million loss in 2024. Its service revenue increased 55.1 percent , while data revenue jumped 74.5 percent.
The improvement has continued into 2026, with Nigeria among the markets driving MTN Group’s latest revenue growth.
MTN said its first-half performance was led by Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and other markets, while South Africa recorded a more modest 1.5 percent increase in service revenue.
The stronger cash flow from Nigeria also signals an improvement in the ability of the country’s operations to generate and repatriate funds following the severe foreign-exchange pressures of previous years.
Ghana becomes a major cash engine
Ghana has also emerged as one of MTN’s strongest contributors to group cash generation.
The R6.6 billion upstreamed from Ghana in the first half was more than twice Nigeria’s contribution and substantially higher than the R2.1 billion generated by MTN’s South African operation during the period.
The development reflects the growing financial weight of MTN’s African subsidiaries outside its home market.
At group level, MTN’s stronger operating performance has been supported by subscriber growth, higher data consumption and the expansion of digital and fintech services.
The company’s core earnings increased 24.4 percent during the first half, while its EBITDA margin expanded to 47.1 percent.
Cash generation strengthens shareholder returns
The improvement in cash generation is also giving MTN greater room to reward shareholders.
The group announced a R6 billion share buyback programme covering approximately 31 million ordinary shares.
MTN said the programme forms part of its shareholder remuneration framework, under which it aims to return between 40 percent and 60 percent of equity free cash flow to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks.
The latest move follows MTN’s return to annual profitability in 2025, when strong performances in Nigeria and Ghana helped the group swing from a restated loss before tax of R4.1 billion in 2024 to a profit before tax of R47.4 billion.
MTN also increased its final dividend by 45 percent following the 2025 recovery.
West Africa’s growing importance
The latest cash-flow figures reflects a broader shift in MTN’s earnings structure.
While South Africa remains the group’s home market, Nigeria and Ghana are increasingly important to its growth, profitability and ability to generate cash for the parent company.
MTN’s latest results reveals that improvements in currency conditions, stronger pricing, data demand and fintech growth are translating into stronger financial returns from West Africa.
However, the concentration of cash generation in a small number of markets also leaves MTN exposed to currency, regulatory and macroeconomic risks in those countries.
For Nigeria, the recovery is significant because after currency volatility and foreign-exchange constraints weakened the country’s contribution to the group, the return of cash to Johannesburg indicates that MTN Nigeria is once again functioning as a major financial engine for its parent company.
The development could also strengthen MTN Group’s ability to fund network expansion, reduce debt and increase shareholder returns as it pursues its Ambition 2030 strategy.
MTN said it invested almost R20 billion in capital expenditure during the first half of 2026, including spending on mobile networks, home connectivity and IT modernisation.
The company is also progressing with its planned acquisition of the remaining shares in IHS Holdings, subject to outstanding regulatory approvals. In Nigeria, conditional approval requires MTN to sell down 30 percent of IHS Nigeria to local investors.
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