Telecom giant MTN Ghana delivered a strong financial performance in the first half of 2026, recording a profit before tax of GH¢7.4 billion, representing a 44.5% increase over the GH¢5.1 billion posted during the same period in 2025.
The impressive performance was driven by robust growth in its data and fintech businesses, underpinned by sustained customer demand for digital services, disciplined network investments and continued expansion of its mobile money ecosystem.
The figures were contained in the company’s half-year financial results released to the investing public on July 31, 2026.
MTN Ghana’s service revenue rose by 32.3% year-on-year to GH¢14.9 billion, compared with GH¢11.3 billion recorded in the first half of 2025.
The company attributed the growth to strong execution of its connectivity and fintech strategies, which reinforced the diversification and resilience of its revenue streams.
According to MTN, continued investment in network expansion, platform modernisation and customer experience initiatives also contributed significantly to the strong financial performance.
Data business drives revenue
The data business remained MTN Ghana’s largest growth engine during the period, with revenue increasing by 47.1% year-on-year to GH¢8.8 billion.
The company said the growth reflected sustained demand for data and digital services across its customer base.
Active data subscribers increased by 17% to 21.3 million, while average monthly data consumption surged by 38% to 19.3 gigabytes (GB) per active user.
MTN said the increase was driven by continued smartphone adoption and growing consumption of digital services, including video streaming.
As a result, data accounted for 58.7% of total service revenue in the first half of 2026, up from 52.8% during the corresponding period in 2025, highlighting the company’s increasing reliance on higher-growth digital services.
Mobile Money records strong growth
Mobile Money Fintech Limited also delivered a solid performance, contributing GH¢3.5 billion in revenue during the six-month period.
The growth was supported by strong performance in both its core wallet business and advanced financial services, as active mobile money users rose by 3.1% to 18.3 million.
Revenue from basic mobile money services grew by 21.2% year-on-year to GH¢2.3 billion, largely driven by increased person-to-person transfers.
Advanced financial services generated GH¢1.2 billion in revenue, representing a 27.3% increase over the same period last year, supported by rising adoption of digital payments, lending products and other value-added financial services.
MTN said transaction volumes and values continued to grow strongly during the period, reflecting greater participation within the mobile money ecosystem, wider adoption of digital payments and stronger customer engagement.
CEO attributes growth to strategic execution
Commenting on the results, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett, said the strong performance reflected the successful execution of the company’s Ambition 2030 strategy and its commitment to delivering value to customers.
He said MTN maintained strong commercial momentum across its data, fintech and digital businesses throughout the first half of the year.
“This momentum culminated in half-year 2026 service revenue growth of 32.3% and further reinforced our position as the leading provider of connectivity and fintech solutions in Ghana,” Mr Blewett said.
He added that the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the company’s long-term strategy.
“Collectively, these results reflect the effectiveness of our strategic execution and the strength of our growth engines,” he said.
Mr Blewett expressed confidence that the company was well positioned to capture emerging opportunities and accelerate sustainable growth over the medium to long term.
“This should reinforce MTN’s confidence that we are taking the right steps to position ourselves to capture emerging opportunities and accelerate sustainable growth over the medium to long term for all stakeholders,” he added.
GH¢6bn paid to govt
MTN Ghana also remained one of the country’s largest corporate taxpayers during the review period.
The company paid GH¢5.6 billion in direct and indirect taxes and an additional GH¢384.7 million in fees and levies to government agencies.
According to MTN, the payments demonstrate the broader economic value created by its operations and its continued contribution to national development and public sector financing.
Interim dividend declared
Buoyed by the strong half-year performance, the Board of Scancom PLC declared a gross interim dividend of GH¢0.03 per share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.
The company said the dividend would be paid after the deduction of applicable taxes.
The total number of ordinary shares in issue at the date of the declaration stood at 13,236,175,050.
Shareholders whose names appear in the register of members at the close of business on Friday, September 4, 2026, will qualify for the dividend, while the ex-dividend date has been fixed for Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
Mobile Money Fintech Limited also declared an interim dividend of GH¢0.03 per share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, payable to shareholders and beneficiaries of the MTN Ghana Fintech Trust.
The company said the dividend would similarly be subject to the deduction of the appropriate taxes, with the number of ordinary shares also standing at 13,236,175,050.
Growth outlook
Looking ahead, MTN Ghana said it would continue implementing its Ambition 2030 strategic priorities through disciplined execution, operational efficiency and prudent capital allocation.
The company said future investments would focus on strengthening network quality and resilience, expanding coverage, improving customer experience and accelerating the adoption of home broadband services.
MTN expressed confidence in Ghana’s long-term growth prospects, stating that its business model remained well positioned to deliver sustainable earnings growth, strong cash flow generation and long-term value creation for shareholders.
