MTN Nigeria Bets on Data Centres, Fibre and Fintech Growth for 2030

Bala Augie


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MTN Nigeria closed the first half of 2026 with a balance sheet that looks nothing like it did two years ago.

Service revenue rose 25.9% and EBITDA jumped 39.2% to ₦1.7 trillion, lifting the EBITDA margin to 55.9% — inside the company’s own guidance range.

Free cash flow rose 73.9% to ₦712.7 billion, and the board lifted the interim dividend 73.3% to ₦26 per share.

There was also a big shift is on the liabilities side.

MTN Nigeria has gone from ₦719.5 billion of net debt at end-2024 to ₦116.3 billion of net cash by mid-2026 — and every debt left on the books is now naira-denominated and fixed-rate, erasing the currency risk that hit earnings during Nigeria’s 2023-2024 FX crisis, according to data from MTN Nigeria’s Half Year (H1) 2026 Results Presentation.

That balance sheet, backed by Aaa/AAA ratings from Agusto & Co. and GCR, is funding a pivot toward home broadband, fintech and AI-ready data centres, for MTN’s next growth phase under “Ambition 2030.”

Home Broadband: MTN Already Owns 90% of Nigeria’s Fibre

Home broadband is the first of Ambition 2030’s growth platforms, and MTN’s pitch to investors is that it is already the dominant infrastructure owner in an under-penetrated market.

Roughly 90% of all fibre connections in Nigeria run through MTN’s network, and the company is layering fixed wireless access (5G FWA) on top of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) to extend serviceability beyond where fibre alone is economical.

Because fixed broadband penetration in Nigeria remains low relative to mobile penetration, management is treating the category as a multi-year growth opportunity.

Fintech

MTN’s fintech unit put up the fastest growth numbers in the entire H1 2026 report. Core fintech revenue — which excludes Xtratime airtime/data-credit commission income,…



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Read Full Article by Bala Augie at moneycentral.com.ng
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