MTN Ghana's earnings outpace MTN Nigeria's for the first half of 2025
MTN Nigeria's Profit Decrease in H1 2025 Compared to MTN Ghana
MTN Nigeria, the telecommunications giant, experienced a significant profit decrease in H1 2025 compared to MTN Ghana, despite a larger subscriber base and higher revenue. The primary reason for this was the impact of foreign exchange (forex) losses and the volatility of the Nigerian naira in H1 2024.
In 2024, the Nigerian naira experienced significant instability and depreciation, leading to forex-related losses on MTN Nigeria’s earnings when converting naira revenue to the group’s reporting currency. These losses reduced reported profits despite strong operational performance.
In contrast, MTN Ghana, operating in a more stable currency environment, did not face similar forex losses, allowing it to maintain or improve profitability relative to Nigeria even with a smaller subscriber base.
MTN Nigeria's revenue in H1 2025 was more than four times that of MTN Ghana, amounting to ₦2.38 trillion ($1.57 billion). The company also had a total of 80 million subscribers. However, profitability was constrained by these currency headwinds and associated losses, which do not similarly impact MTN Ghana’s reported profits. MTN Nigeria's profit after tax in H1 2025 was ₦414.9 billion ($271 million).
Despite the challenges in H1 2024, MTN Nigeria had consistently been the most profitable market for the telco group. Operating conditions for the company in H1 2024 were unstable, leading to a loss of ₦519.1 billion ($339 million).
In a surprising turn of events, MTN Ghana became the largest operation in terms of profit after tax in H1 2025, closing with a profit after tax of ₵3.6 billion ($327 million). MTN Ghana brought in ₵11.3 billion ($1.02 billion) in revenue in H1 2025, a significant increase from its H1 2024 revenue figures, which are not provided in the given information.
Although MTN Nigeria showed signs of recovery in H1 2025 due to better economic conditions and service demand, the prior forex losses dampened overall profit comparisons with Ghana. It is hoped that the company will continue to recover and regain its position as the most profitable market for the telco group in the future.
[1] MTN Nigeria Q1 2025 Results (https://www.mtnnigeria.com/investors/financial-reports) [2] MTN Ghana H1 2025 Results (https://www.mtn.com.gh/investors/financial-results) [3] MTN Nigeria Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha) [4] MTN Ghana H1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
[1] The financial struggles of MTN Nigeria in H1 2025, despite a larger subscriber base and higher revenue, can be attributed to the impact of forex losses and the volatility of the Nigerian naira, which reduced reported profits despite strong operational performance. [2] In contrast, MTN Ghana, operating in a more stable currency environment, did not face similar forex losses, thereby maintaining or improving profitability relative to Nigeria. This shows that foreign exchange conditions significantly impact the business and finance of MTN Nigeria.
