MTN Ghana’s profit after tax for H1 2025 has surpassed that of MTN Nigeria by $56 million. According to the financials posted by the MTN Ghana CEO, Stephen Blewett, on LinkedIn, the company recorded a ₵3.6 billion ($327 million) in profit after tax, 20% more than Nigeria’s ₦414.9 billion ($271 million) in the same period.
While Ghana’s economy has shown signs of recovery, marked by cedi stability, moderating inflation, and tech‑friendly reforms, Nigeria’s macroeconomic picture remains troubled.
The naira has lost value, eroding corporate earnings when translated into USD. This discrepancy alone accounted for Ghana’s leapfrogging of its West African neighbour in reported USD profit, even though Nigeria’s subscriber base is nearly three times larger.
MTN Ghana’s 30.2 million subscribers generated far more value per user than MTN Nigeria’s 84.7 million. Ghana’s growing fintech footprint reduced operational costs and a 31% jump in service revenue to ₵8.1 billion as key contributors.
Fintech strength and lean operations
Ghana’s digital and mobile money segments expanded rapidly in 2024 and early 2025—data revenue rose 30.5%, while fintech shot up 48.2%. MoMo transactions surged, and MTN Ghana kept capital expenditure low relative to revenue. Its EBITDA margin stood at 58.4%, well ahead of Nigeria’s 50.6% in the same period.
Nigeria, on the other hand, only recently bounced back from a ₦519.1 billion loss in H1 2024, which was largely due to ₦887 billion in forex losses. Though service revenue climbed by 32.6% year-on-year, much of this was devoured by inflationary cost pressures and currency devaluation—an outcome Ghana largely avoided.
Bigger doesn’t mean better
These results challenge the notion that market size may be a determinant of profitability. MTN Ghana’s success suggests that structural efficiency, digital revenue focus, and economic policy stability may matter more. In contrast, Nigeria’s scale advantage is being undermined by economic unpredictability and a weakening naira.
For the MTN Group, which operates in 19 countries, this development may prompt a rethink on resource allocation, strategic focus, and investor messaging. Smaller but stable markets like Ghana could emerge as more reliable profit engines than their larger, volatile counterparts.
As African economies continue to diverge in monetary policy and investment friendliness, Ghana’s win over Nigeria in this financial bout could signal deeper shifts in regional telecom competitiveness.
