By Joshua AMLANU & Ebenezer NJOKU
The stock price of telecommunications leader MTN surged to a record high, closing at GH¢3.02 per share on Tuesday, March 3, 2025 – up from GH¢2.91 last week as investors reacted positively to the company’s strong financial performance.
The stock has gained momentum since touching a low of GH¢1.4 a year ago. Over the period, it’s share price has appreciated by 114 percent… with 36.4 percent in the past six months and 20 percent since beginning of the year.
The rally follows MTN’s earnings report on February 28, which showed a 34.5 percent increase in service revenue for 2024. The company attributed these strong results to higher data consumption, continued expansion of mobile money (MoMo) services and investments in network infrastructure.
Data services drive revenue surge
Unsurprisingly, MTN’s data business emerged as the biggest growth driver – with revenue soaring 53.8 percent to GH¢9billion. A 13.7 percent rise in active data subscribers, coupled with increased smartphone adoption, contributed to a 19 percent surge in average data consumption per user.
Total data traffic on the network expanded by 35.3 percent.
The shift toward data services has accelerated at the expense of traditional voice calls. Voice revenue fell 0.9 percent to GH¢3.5billion despite a 13.5 percent increase in total call usage.
The company noted that aggressive pricing on call plans softened the revenue impact, as more customers opted for internet-based communication platforms.
“We continue to prioritise network resilience and cutting-edge technology to ensure our customers stay connected,” MTN Ghana said in its annual report.
The company spent GH¢3.1billion on network expansion and technology upgrades, pushing its subscriber base up 6.5 percent to 28.5 million.
MoMo revenue soars
The mobile money (MoMo) segment sustained strong growth, with revenue jumping 54.4 percent to GH¢4.4billion. The gains were driven by a 12.8 percent rise in active MoMo users and an increase in transaction volumes. Withdrawals grew 45.2 percent, while transfers climbed 44.6 percent.
More notably, the company’s advanced MoMo services – which include digital payments and lending – surged by 82.8 percent.
These offerings now contribute significantly to MoMo’s total revenue – which has grown to 24.9 percent of overall service revenue, up from 21.7 percent a year earlier.
Digital growth
MTN’s digital segment posted a 66.1 percent revenue increase to GH¢228.2million, reflecting rising demand for streaming, gaming and content services.
Although still a small portion of total revenue, the company sees digital services as a key growth area.
Despite strong revenue expansion, operating costs climbed 38.9 percent to GH¢7.7billion due to inflation, currency depreciation and rising energy costs.
However, the company maintained profitability with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 31.3 percent to GH¢10.2billion.
Profit after tax grew 26.3 percent to GH¢5billion and the board proposed a final dividend of GH¢0.24 per share, pending shareholder approval.
MTN Ghana also made strides in its environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments, reducing carbon emissions by 15.8 percent from its 2021 baseline – surpassing its 12.5 percent target.
The progress was attributed to increased reliance on solar energy and energy-efficient cooling systems.
