MTN Nigeria pumps ₦202b into capital expenditure in Q1 2025
Rakes in N133b in profit after tax
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has significantly ramped up its investment in network infrastructure, with capital expenditure (excluding leases) rising by 159% year-on-year to ₦202.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
The operator got rewarded with over N133b in profit after tax in the same period.
These are some of the details in the just released MTN Nigeria’s unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
Key performance indicators show solid growth across core business segments:
Service revenue surged by 40.5% year-on-year to ₦1.0 trillion.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 65.9% to ₦492.7 billion, with a 7.2 percentage point margin expansion to 46.6%.
Profit after tax stood at ₦133.7 billion, a remarkable turnaround from the ₦392.7 billion loss recorded in Q1 2024.
Free cash flow remained positive at ₦209.9 billion, despite the spike in capex.
MTN Nigeria also posted robust subscriber growth, adding 3.2 million new users during the quarter to reach a total base of 84.1 million. Active data subscribers grew by 2.6 million to 50.3 million, driving a 46.4% increase in data traffic compared to the previous year.
CEO Karl Toriola credited the performance to the company’s strategic execution and operational resilience.
“Our Q1 results place us firmly on the path to restoring profitability and a positive net asset position within the financial year, while significantly increasing investments to improve service delivery,” he stated.
Toriola acknowledged challenges in the operating environment but noted positive trends such as exchange rate stability, averaging ₦1,537 per US dollar, and a moderated inflation rate of 24.2% following CPI rebasing in January.
Aiding the company’s network expansion efforts was a new passive infrastructure-sharing agreement between MTN Group and Airtel Africa, which is expected to enhance coverage and reduce network costs.
MTN also began implementing price adjustments across data and voice bundles in February, following regulatory approval. The full revenue impact is expected in Q2 2025.
On the fintech front, MTN recalibrated its strategy to focus on ecosystem quality, resulting in a 25.7% decline in the active wallet base to 2.1 million.
However, the company says this shift allowed it to prioritise high-value users and improve float management, laying the groundwork for a more sustainable digital financial ecosystem.
Despite the substantial capex, MTN reduced its retained losses to ₦474.1 billion from ₦607.5 billion in December 2024, and improved shareholders’ equity to a negative ₦324.6 billion, compared to negative ₦458.0 billion at year-end.
Looking ahead, the company reaffirmed its commitment to the “Ambition 2025” strategy, focusing on digital and financial inclusion, network investment, and restoring shareholder value.
“We will continue to execute with discipline, agility, and a focus on sustainable growth,” Toriola said.
