Financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2026

Strong nine-month performance; guidance reaffirmed
Lagos | Nigeria: 30 October 2026

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc announces the Group financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2026.

Salient points

Operational

• Total subscribers up 10.9% to 94.7 million
• Active data users up 12.0% to 57.2 million

Financial

• Service revenue up 23.7% to N4.6 trillion (Q3 2026: 19.7%)
• EBITDA up 36.8% to N2.6 trillion
• EBITDA margin up 5.5pp to 56.9% (Q3 2026: 58.7%)
• PAT up 55.3% to N1.2 trillion with PAT margin expanding by 5.1pp to 25.3%.
• EPS up 55.3% to N55.6
• Capex, excluding leases, up by 14.2% to N864.8 billion with a capex intensity of 18.7%
• Free cash flow of N1.2 trillion, up 57.5%, reflecting strong cash generation

Medium-term guidance: average service revenue growth of at least low-20% and EBITDA margin in the mid-to-high-50% range.

Unless otherwise stated, financial and non-financial information is year-on-year (YoY, 9M 2026 versus 9M 2025). EBITDA – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation | pp – percentage points | PAT – profit after tax | EPS – earnings per share | Capex – capital expenditure | Free cash flow – EBITDA less cash-related capex and accounting for working capital movements, income tax and interest paid | Subscribers exclude non-revenue-generating customers whose activity is limited to receiving incoming on-net voice calls and SMS, and using free data.

CEO Commentary

Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We delivered a very strong third quarter, reversing the temporary slowdown in Q2. Service revenue grew 19.7% (8.4% QoQ), with growth accelerating each month to 21.6% in September. Profitability grew even faster: Q3 EBITDA rose 32.8% (12.5% QoQ) and the EBITDA margin widened by 5.8pp to 58.7%. For the nine months, service revenue grew 23.7% with an EBITDA margin of 56.9%. Both are comfortably within the guidance of ‘at least low-20%’ revenue
growth and a ‘mid-to-high-50%’ margin.

Growth is increasingly volume-led, driven by more users, deeper data adoption, higher usage and rising demand for home broadband, supported by continued investment in network coverage, capacity and quality. In fintech, core mobile money revenue more than doubled, up 102.2%, while our airtime and data credit service continued to recover following its resumption under a multi-partner model, with revenue up 78.5% on Q2.

We continue to deliver on our efficiency programme, expanding margins and strengthening cash generation despite energy cost pressures, and these gains are increasingly structural. Our balance sheet is strong, with borrowings fully naira-denominated and at fixed rates, eliminating foreign currency and floating-rate exposure on our debt.

We enter the final quarter with confidence and remain on track to deliver our guidance. Our priorities are clear: sustain growth, protect margins, scale home broadband and rebuild fintech momentum, while creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”

Revenue segment performance

Our broad-based revenue growth demonstrates the resilience of our core business and the strength of the underlying demand for our services, which continues to grow. Data was the main contributor to growth, supported by voice, digital services and home broadband.

Data revenue rose 35.8% (Q3 2026: 31.4%), driven by growing digital adoption across our base. Active data users increased by 12.0% to 57.2 million, and average monthly usage per active data user grew by 16.2% to 15.3GB for the nine months (Q3 2026: 17.2GB), lifting network data traffic by 30.1%. Smartphones on our network rose 12.4% YoY as customers upgraded to 4G- and 5G-capable devices, bringing smartphone penetration to 66.0%, up 0.9pp YoY.

Home broadband is becoming an increasingly important contributor to our growth, supported by our leadership position in the FTTH market. FTTH now carries approximately 13% of our total data traffic, helping to free up capacity on the mobile network while enhancing the efficiency and scalability of our network.

Voice revenue grew by 11.1% (Q3 2026: 9.3%), supported by a 10.9% increase in mobile subscribers to 94.7 million and targeted propositions, which offset softer usage per subscriber as customers shift towards data.

Digital revenue increased by 24.0% and accelerated to 30.6% growth in Q3. Growth was led by rich media services and mobile advertising. Enterprise revenue increased by 6.5%, led by bulk SMS, fixed connectivity and converged services, supported by the acquisition of high-quality customers.

In fintech, the core mobile money business continued to scale, with revenue up 102.2%, driven mainly by higher float income as wallet balances more than quadrupled to N43.8 billion from December 2025. Overall fintech revenue declined 25.9% due to the suspension of the airtime and data credit service between April and June. The service resumed under a new multi-partner model and continued to recover in Q3, with revenue up 78.5% on Q2.

In August 2026, MoMo PSB moved to its new Alipay+ platform, a step-change for our fintech business. Built for reliability and scale, it offers a richer, more feature-packed and secure customer experience, giving MoMo PSB the foundation to become a scaled digital financial services platform. Monthly active users at the end of Q3 were 3.2 million, now measured on the new platform only and continue to grow as legacy wallets migrate and new customers are onboarded. Underlying engagement
remained robust, with Q3 transaction volumes up 69.1% on Q2.

Financial performance

Our strong top line, combined with disciplined cost management, delivered significant operating leverage. Operating expenses (Opex) rose by 8.5%, well below revenue growth and inflation. This reflected the continued delivery of our expense-efficiency programme, together with the benefit of a stronger naira (N1,329/US$ at the end of September 2026 against N1,475/US$ in September 2025) and VAT input claims, which collectively contained the impact of higher diesel-linked tower costs in Q3.

As a result, EBITDA increased by 36.8% and the EBITDA margin expanded by 5.5pp to 56.9% (Q3 2026: 58.7%).

Depreciation and amortisation rose by 32.6%, reflecting higher network investment. Net finance costs fell by 25.3% to N277.0 billion as borrowings were reduced, and the stronger naira produced a net foreign exchange gain of N80.1 billion (9M 2025: N55.6 billion).

Cash generation was strong with free cash flow up 57.5% to N1.2 trillion on higher earnings and disciplined capital allocation, delivered alongside continued network investment and supporting shareholder returns. Capex excluding leases rose 14.2%, giving a capex intensity of 18.7% in line with our target range. Investment accelerated in Q3, up 69.1%, as we stepped up our 2026 network rollout, expanding coverage and capacity, improving network quality and supporting home broadband
growth.

Our balance sheet is a source of strength and resilience. We closed the period with a net cash position of N47.7 billion (December 2025: N104.8 billion) after paying N860.8 billion in dividends, covering the FY 2025 final and 2026 interim, and increasing network investment. Our interest earned exceeded the interest payable on borrowings, resulting in a net interest income position and underscoring the strength of our balance sheet, which remains fully naira-denominated and fixed-rate. This provides us with the flexibility to continue investing for growth while sustaining shareholder returns.

Outlook

Our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged: investing in network capacity and coverage to improve customer experience, scaling home broadband and fintech, maintaining a resilient balance sheet and delivering sustainable shareholder returns.

Growth will continue to be underpinned by subscriber and usage growth, deeper data adoption and the scaling of home broadband, digital and enterprise services. In fintech, our priorities are to complete the migration of customers to the new MoMo platform, deepen wallet activity and use cases, and sustain the recovery of the airtime and data credit service to expected levels by the end of November 2026. The structural separation of the fintech business is progressing, subject to regulatory approvals.

We continue to closely monitor developments in our operating environment, particularly energy costs, inflation, FX conditions, pricing behaviour and customer affordability. While energy costs remain an important consideration, recent trends give us increased confidence in our margin outlook as we enter the final quarter.

Our focus remains on sustaining growth and protecting margins, while converting earnings growth
into stronger cash flow and long-term shareholder value.

Key financial tables

Group income statement summary

Group cash flow and investment

Key operating indicators

YoY growth rate is calculated using unrounded figures

Karl Olutokun Toriola
Chief Executive Officer

Conference call

Management will host a conference call for analysts and investors on 02 November 2026 at 15:00 (WAT). For registration details, click here. A transcript and the presentation will be available at www.mtn.ng/investors.

Contacts