MTN Group Lifts Guidance After Double-Digit Growth, Updates on Turkcell Legal Battle

MTN Group  presented its half-year results at the company’s Innovation Centre in Johannesburg, where executives highlighted strong financial and operational performance, reinforced by strategic investments in data and fintech services across Africa.

Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita credited MTN’s 17,000 employees across 16 markets for delivering solid results despite challenging global and regional macroeconomic conditions.

Mupita noted that MTN now serves nearly 300 million subscribers across 16 markets, positioning itself for sustained growth despite a volatile geopolitical and macroeconomic environment.

“I’d like to first of all thank the MTNRs — 17,000 across 16 markets — who have been hard at work over the last six or so months in a very challenging macro. I think all of us know that we are operating in very uncertain and volatile geopolitical contexts, and that has a second-order effect on the markets we operate in. Without those 17,000, I don’t think we would have had this set of results — a pretty clean set of financial results that Sulu will share — and we’re very pleased with the progress the company has made in the six months to the end of June.”

– Ralph Mupita, Group President and CEO, MTN 

Strong Growth in Data and Fintech

Data and fintech remain the company’s structural growth drivers. Service revenue growth in Nigeria surged by 54%, boosted by tariff increases and heavy CAPEX investment into network quality. Group data traffic rose 41%, while fintech transaction volumes hit an impressive $212 billion in H1. Advanced services such as payments, remittances, and bank-tech products grew 42%, underscoring MTN’s commitment to diversifying revenue streams.

Nigeria Turnaround and Dividend Capacity

MTN reaffirmed progress on its five-point Nigeria plan, with improvements in liquidity, inflation, and regulatory engagement. The company’s intensified CAPEX program addressed quality-of-service challenges, with EBITDA margins expected to exceed 50% for the year. Crucially, Nigeria’s dividend-paying capacity has been restored earlier than previously expected, a major milestone for shareholders.

South Africa Competition Pressures

In South Africa, revenue growth was muted at 2.3%, reflecting intense prepaid competition. MTN revised its service revenue guidance to “low-to-mid single digits”, down from mid-single digits, and signalled tactical investments in pricing and distribution to protect market share. “Our focus is ensuring every South African has a data-capable handset while preparing for eventual 2G shutdowns,” Mupita said.

Regulatory and Taxation Challenges

MTN also addressed ongoing regulatory and tax issues across its markets. Mupita stressed the need for governments to adopt more enabling taxation policies, warning that excessive levies on devices and services risk stalling Africa’s digital economy. The group continues to engage authorities as part of the G6 operators alliance to push for fairer policies.

Legal Matters: Turkcell, U.S. DOJ Inquiry

A major update concerned MTN’s long-running legal disputes:

• Turkcell Case: The South African Supreme Court of Appeal upheld MTN’s position that the matter should be heard under Iranian law. However, the Eastern Cape court granted a favorable jurisdiction ruling to Turkcell, which MTN has now appealed to the Constitutional Court.

• U.S. Cases: Several lawsuits dating back to 2019–2020 remain at the jurisdiction stage. Most recently, MTN disclosed that its U.S. counsel has been contacted by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding activities in Afghanistan and Iran. Mupita clarified that MTN is not accused of wrongdoing but is voluntarily cooperating with information requests.