For most of the past two years, Nigeria was MTN’s problem market. A collapsing naira, massive foreign exchange losses, and a subsidiary posting losses after tax made the country look more like a liability than an asset. The 2025 full-year results tell a completely different story.
The Numbers That Define the Turnaround
MTN Nigeria posted a profit after tax of ₦1.1 trillion for the full year 2025, a 377.9% increase that marks a dramatic reversal from the ₦400.4 billion loss recorded in 2024. Service revenue grew 55.1% to ₦5.2 trillion, driven by strong performance across data, voice, fintech, and digital services. EBITDA more than doubled, rising 108.9% to ₦2.7 trillion, with the EBITDA margin expanding by 13.6 percentage points to 52.7%.
Free cash flow reached ₦1.2 trillion, up 215.5%, reflecting the strength of the company’s underlying cash generation even as it accelerated capital expenditure to ₦1 trillion during the year.
What Drove the Recovery
The single biggest factor was the naira’s relative stability. In 2024, MTN Nigeria absorbed a ₦925.4 billion net foreign exchange loss. In 2025, that figure swung to a ₦90.3 billion net FX gain. The naira closed the year at ₦1,436 per US dollar, compared to ₦1,535 at the end of 2024, while headline inflation declined to 15.2% by year-end.
The tariff increase approved by regulators in early 2025 also gave the company room to expand service revenue meaningfully. Data remained the primary growth engine, with data revenue rising 74.5% for the year. Renegotiated tower lease agreements with IHS further helped contain operating costs.
Nigeria’s Position Within the MTN Group
Nigeria’s performance was central to the group’s 2025 result. MTN South Africa, by contrast, delivered only 2% service revenue growth for the year, illustrating how sharply the balance of profitability within the group has shifted westward. Nigeria’s EBITDA margin of 52.7% stands well above the group average, making it not just the largest market by earnings but the most efficient at converting revenue into profit.
A Market That Now Shapes Group Strategy
Nigeria’s performance comes with a structural caveat. The group is now more exposed to the risks that come with depending heavily on a single market: naira volatility, regulatory unpredictability, and competitive pressure can all move the group’s numbers in ways they previously could not.
That is the trade-off built into this result. MTN has found its most powerful growth engine in West Africa, but the engine is running in one of the continent’s most unpredictable operating environments. How the group manages that concentration risk will likely define its trajectory for the next several years.
