MTN Nigeria Communications Plc delivered strong cash generation in the first quarter of 2026, with free cash flow rising 55.6 percent to N326.5 billion from N209.9 billion in Q1 2025, as robust data demand and operational efficiency helped the company strengthen its financial position amid a challenging environment.
This was disclosed in the company’s Q1 2026 unaudited financial results released on Thursday.
The sharp increase in free cash flow, which is defined as EBITDA less cash-related capital expenditure, working capital movements, income tax and interest paid, underscores MTN Nigeria’s improved operating leverage and disciplined cost management even as it accelerated network investments.
The telecom operator added 2.3 million revenue-generating subscribers in the quarter, lifting its total subscriber base to 89.5 million, a 6.5 percent increase from Q1 2025. Active data subscribers grew faster by 9.5 percent to 55.0 million from 50.3 million a year earlier.
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Service revenue surged 41.8 percent to approximately N1.49 trillion in Q1 2026, compared with N1.05 trillion in Q1 2025. Data revenue, the main growth driver, jumped 56.2 percent year-on-year, supported by higher consumption. Data traffic grew 22.9 percent, while average data usage per subscriber increased 12.3 percent to 14.3 GB. Smartphone penetration rose 5.5 percentage points to 66.2 percent.
EBITDA expanded 68.1 percent to N828.3 billion from N492.7 billion in the same period last year. The EBITDA margin improved substantially by 8.7 percentage points to 55.3 percent, demonstrating strong operating leverage despite rising energy costs late in the quarter.
Karl Toriola, MTN’s chief executive officer attributed the solid performance to disciplined execution.
“The first quarter of 2026 underscores the strength of our execution and the resilience of our business model in a complex and evolving operating environment. We sustained strong commercial momentum, maintained disciplined cost management and accelerated investment in our network,” Toriola said.
Capital expenditure (excluding right-of-use assets) rose sharply by 92.8 percent to N390.3 billion in Q1 2026 from N202.4 billion in Q1 2025. The company directed much of this spending toward expanding network capacity, particularly in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and fixed wireless access to tap into the home broadband opportunity.
Profit after tax surged 165.9 percent to N355.5 billion from N133.7 billion in Q1 2025. Earnings per share more than doubled to N16.95 from N6.37 a year earlier.
MTN Nigeria ended the quarter with a positive net cash position of N129.0 billion, up from N104.8 billion at the end of December 2025.
It also fully repaid all outstanding foreign currency loans during the period, lowering its exposure to exchange rate volatility.
The company is advancing the structural separation of its fintech business, proposing to sell a 60 percent stake in its MoMo Payment Service Bank and Y’ello Digital Financial Services to MTN Group Fintech Holdings while retaining 40 percent ownership and receiving a N152.1 billion capital injection.
Read also: MTN Nigeria suspends Xtratime service over new lending rules
It temporarily suspended its Xtratime airtime and data credit service to meet new regulatory requirements for digital lending but expects no material financial impact as customer recharge patterns normalise.
Looking forward, MTN Nigeria maintained its medium-term guidance of average service revenue growth of at least low-20 percent and mid-to-high 50 percent EBITDA margins. The company expects capex intensity to moderate as the year progresses.
The company said it will continue focusing on network quality, cost discipline and balance sheet strength while monitoring energy prices and macroeconomic conditions, including assumed naira exchange rates between N1,400 and N1,700 per US dollar.
The quality of the results particularly the strong subscriber growth, margin expansion and robust free cash flow generation compared with Q1 2025, reinforces MTN Nigeria’s leadership position and its ability to benefit from Nigeria’s rising data adoption and digital economy.
MTN Nigeria remains dominant in Nigeria’s mobile market, where demand for reliable high-speed connectivity continues to grow.
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