Ralph Mupita leads MTN Group to $2.6 billion revenue in Q1 2025

Key Points 

• MTN Group posted $2.6 billion Q1 revenue, lifted by Nigeria and Ghana where service income surged over 40%, driving a 10.4% rise in group-wide service revenue.
• Subscriber base reached 296.8 million across 16 markets, with data users growing 9.1% and MoMo monthly users hitting 62.2 million, boosting data and fintech income.
• Group EBITDA jumped 33%, margins expanded to 44.1%, and MTN reaffirmed $382 million–$436 million in cost savings by 2026 under Ralph Mupita.

MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom service provider, led by Zimbabwean senior executive Ralph Mupita, has made a strong recovery after a period of slowdown, reporting $2.59 billion in revenue for the first three months of its 2025 fiscal year. This impressive turnaround comes from growth across its key markets, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana.

Nigeria, Ghana fuel MTN Group’s Q1 growth

According to its recent quarterly update, the pan-African telecommunication group began 2025 on solid footing, reporting a 10.4 percent rise in service revenue from R42.9 billion ($2.34 billion) to R47.36 billion ($2.58 billion), helped largely by strong results from its Nigerian and Ghanaian operations.

MTN Nigeria reported a 40.4 percent jump in service revenue, while MTN Ghana wasn’t far behind with a 39.5 percent increase. South Africa, the group’s home market, delivered a muted 2.6 percent service revenue gain as prepaid challenges persisted. In Uganda, service revenue rose 13.5 percent but was partially offset by a cut in mobile termination rates. 

Subscriber base nears 300 million

The group added 13.3 million users in the quarter, bringing its total subscriber base to 296.8 million across 16 markets. Active data users rose 9.1 percent year-on-year to 161.7 million, while MTN’s mobile money platform, MoMo, grew slightly to 62.2 million monthly active users.

Data revenue surged 28.7 percent as traffic climbed 30.4 percent to 5,677 petabytes. Fintech revenue jumped 25.2 percent, supported by a 13.9 percent increase in transaction volumes and a 48.9 percent spike in transaction value to $95.3 billion.

Group EBITDA grew by 33 percent, with margins expanding 5.3 percentage points to 44.1 percent, aided by robust topline growth and lower device costs in South Africa. Net debt-to-EBITDA remained stable at 0.7x, while liquidity headroom stood at R38 billion ($2.07 billion).

Group President and CEO of MTN, Ralph Mupita, attributed the strong start to the year to improved operational execution, easing macroeconomic pressures, and disciplined capital allocation. He reaffirmed the group’s R7–8 billion ($382–436.64 million) expense-efficiency target by 2026.

Strategic focus remains sharp under Mupita

Under Ralph Mupita, MTN Group has achieved significant milestones, serving 297 million subscribers across 16 markets. His focus on growth and smart execution has helped drive the company’s expansion and earned him a spot among Southern Africa’s most influential CEOs. Today, his minority stake in MTN is worth about $4.1 million.

Mupita’s steady hand at the helm has been a big part of MTN’s story, helping the company become a central player in Africa’s digital transformation and strengthening its role in the continent’s fast-changing telecom market. 

Looking ahead, MTN said it is pushing forward with key projects, including network-sharing deals in Nigeria and Uganda, new satellite connectivity partnerships, and the ongoing separation of its fintech business into a standalone unit. Management also confirmed it is sticking with its full-year capital spending plans of between R30 billion and R35 billion ($1.64–1.91 billion).