MTN Ghana has reported a 26% rise in full-year profit after “significant growth” in its MoMo, data, and digital services and despite the country’s macroeconomic environment being characterised by high inflation and the continued depreciation of the cedi.
The group reported profit after tax of 5.03bn Ghanaian cedis for the year ended December, up 26.3%, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 10.24bn cedis, an improvement of 31.3%.
Total revenue was 34.4% higher at 17.95bn cedis, with service revenue rising 34.5% to 17.89bn cedis — ahead of the group’s targeted medium-term trend of high-twenties growth.
Service revenue growth was supported by strong growth in data, mobile money (MoMo) and digital services. Additionally, it was bolstered by ongoing investments aimed at improving 4G connectivity, which was complemented by initiatives to enhance overall customer experience and growth, MTN Ghana said.
Mobile subscribers increased by 6.5% to 28.5-million, while active data subscribers grew by 13.7% to 17.5-million. Active Mobile Money (MoMo) users increased by 12.8% to 17.2-million, the group said in a statement on Monday.
The group continued the investment in its network and technology, spending 3.1-billion cedis to maintain network quality, expand coverage and capacity and improve IT systems.
Data revenue rose 53.8% year on year to 9-billion cedis, driven by a 13.7% YoY rise in active data subscribers and increased smartphone adoption, which in turn led to a 19% rise in the megabytes consumed per active user per month.
MoMo revenue growth was 54.4% to 4.4-billion cedis, driven by a 12.8% year on year growth in active users, a review of the fee structure and significant growth in advance services.
Digital revenue experienced strong growth, with a year-on-year increase of 66.1% to 228.2m cedis, supported by an 11.7% year on year rise in active subscribers and increased usage of products and services such as video, gaming and ring-back tones.
MTN Ghana is cautiously optimistic about the macroeconomic outlook for Ghana in 2025 and the medium term, with an expected improvement over time.
It identified as risks inflationary pressures from fluctuations in food prices and the exchange rate, which may arise from potential challenges in the energy sector.
“These factors could undermine the anticipated improvements in the economy and continue to negatively impact economic growth, consumer spending and the overall cost of doing business.” it said.
“MTN Ghana will continue to execute its Ambition 2025 strategy. The focus will be on sustained growth and enhancing its platform strategy. This includes driving platform development, improving home connectivity, leveraging artificial intelligence applications, and encouraging greater app adoption for fintech users and the general subscriber base,” MTN Ghana CEO Stephen Blewett said.
Additionally, the company will implement expense efficiency initiatives aimed at mitigating the effect of inflation and currency depreciation on the business.
MTN Ghana will continue to invest capex strategically to maximise long-term shareholder value. This will enable MTN to capitalise on the increasing demand for data by expanding access, particularly in rural areas and by promoting the adoption of smartphones.
“This will be further boosted by our collaboration with AT and Telecel to establish a long-term infrastructure-sharing agreement,” it added.
The company maintained its medium-term guidance for service revenue growth in the high twenties in percentage terms.
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