MTN, which has suffered the effects of currency devaluations in a number of its key markets, is happy that local tender is much stronger in its third-largest market, Ghana.
Yet, the group is hesitant to revel in the moment, given the volatility in global financial markets and geopolitical uncertainty, which have affected Africa’s largest mobile operator.
The company said the Ghanaian cedi “appreciated meaningfully” against the dollar, with the exchange rate strengthening from 15.3/$ in January to 10.3/$ in June, according to the Bank of Ghana’s interbank rates.
On reporting first-half earnings last week, MTN Ghana CEO Stephen Blewett said: “The macroeconomic outlook for the rest of 2025 is expected to remain relatively stable.
“The Bank of Ghana has maintained its strict monetary policy stance, focusing on low inflation. This is anchored on the relative stability and strengthening of the cedi against major trading currencies. However, escalating geopolitical tension, including conflicts and ongoing trade wars, do pose increased risks to the macroeconomic outlook both globally and in Ghana.”
He said the cellphone company would continue to monitor the macroeconomic environment “and take proactive measures to achieve operational excellence”.
This is as MTN Ghana reported a higher profit at the halfway stage. Profit after tax for the six months to end-June increased by 55.8% to 3.6-billion cedi.
Mobile subscribers increased by 6.5% to 30.2-million, while active data subscribers rose 11% to 18.2-million. Active Mobile Money (MoMo) users increased by 7.4% to 17.7-million.
Service revenue increased by 40% to 11.3-billion cedi. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by 45.5% to 6.6-billion cedi.
“MTN Ghana’s first half 2025 financial performance was achieved through strong commercial momentum and execution, sustaining the positive operational trends from the first quarter of the year,” said Blewett, adding that the group was committed to delivering on its market guidance.
Ghana was the second of MTN’s African units to report higher earnings. MTN Nigeria reported a strong turnaround in the first half on Thursday as operating conditions in the West African nation improved.
The company reported profit after tax of 414.9-billion naira (R4.9bn) for the six months to end-June after a loss of 519.1-billion naira a year ago.
MTN Ghana will continue to invest capital efficiently through its value-based capital allocation strategy to capture the opportunities arising from the growing demand for data, Blewett said.
“We will acquire and deploy spectrum efficiently in the second half to enable us to take a step further in achieving our commitment to enhance data and home connectivity. MTN Ghana will continue to enhance its platforms, including MyMTN and the MoMo applications, to deliver superior user experiences and services.
“As we move forward, we remain focused on meeting our medium-term guidance of mid to upper thirties percentage growth for service revenue and mid to high fifties margins, as well as our vision of leading the digital transformation in Ghana while ensuring sustainable growth for all our stakeholders,” he said.
Update: August 3 2025
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