MTN Ghana Posts 43% Profit Jump to GH¢7.75bn in Nine Months, Driven by Data and Mobile Money

MTN Ghana and its separately incorporated Mobile Money Fintech Limited (MMFL) reported a combined profit after tax of GH¢7.75 billion for the nine months to September 2026, a 43 per cent increase over the GH¢5.42 billion recorded in the same period last year, according to financial results released on Friday.

The strong performance was underpinned by higher revenue from data services, mobile money and digital platforms, alongside improved operational efficiency.

Revenue and profitability rise in tandem

Combined service revenue rose 33.5 per cent to GH¢23.15 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 40.6 per cent to GH¢14.28 billion. The EBITDA margin expanded by 3.1 percentage points to 61.5 per cent, indicating stronger profitability despite a 23.2 per cent rise in total operating costs to GH¢8.93 billion.

On a quarterly basis, profit after tax for the third quarter alone grew 42.6 per cent to GH¢2.62 billion, with revenue up 35.7 per cent to GH¢8.2 billion. MTN Ghana is the first African subsidiary in the MTN Group to publish quarterly results.

Data remains the largest revenue driver

Data services continued to power growth, generating GH¢13.45 billion, up 44.5 per cent year-on-year and the largest single contributor to service revenue. Mobile Money revenue increased 24.4 per cent to GH¢5.37 billion, while digital revenue nearly doubled to GH¢642 million.

Customer adoption expanded accordingly. Active data subscribers rose 16.1 per cent to 22 million, and active Mobile Money users increased 6.9 per cent to 18.9 million. In the third quarter alone, the company added approximately 1.5 million mobile subscribers, 700,000 active data users and 600,000 active MoMo users.

First interim dividend since Mobile Money split

Notably, MMFL was formally separated from Scancom PLC on 31 March 2026 as a standalone entity to comply with Ghana's Payment Systems and Services Act. These results mark the first full nine-month disclosure on a combined basis since the separation.

The boards of Scancom PLC and MMFL each declared a third-quarter interim dividend of GH¢0.03 per share. Both dividends go ex on 24 November and will be paid on 10 December.

Full-year guidance points to low-to-mid-30s revenue growth

MTN Ghana guided for full-year 2026 service revenue growth in the low-to-mid-30 per cent range, with EBITDA margins projected between the high-50s and low-60s. The outlook rests on expectations of easing inflationary pressure in Ghana and continued uptake of data and mobile money services.

The results come as Ghana's mobile money sector continues to expand. Central Bank data showed mobile money transactions reached GH¢518.8 billion in August alone, with roughly 26.4 million active mobile money accounts. MTN Ghana leads the segment, and its 18.9 million active MoMo users form a core part of the country's digital payments ecosystem.