MTN Ghana generated approximately 58% more service revenue per subscriber than MTN Nigeria during the first nine months of 2026, despite operating with a significantly smaller customer base.
The difference highlights the contrasting revenue performance of the telecommunications group’s two major African markets, even as both subsidiaries recorded strong growth between January and September 2026.
According to their respective financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, MTN Nigeria generated approximately $3.48 billion in service revenue, supported by 94.7 million mobile subscribers. This translates to approximately $36.72 in service revenue per subscriber over the nine-month period.
In comparison, MTN Ghana recorded approximately $1.992 billion (GH¢23.2 billion) in service revenue from its 34.3 million mobile subscribers, translating to approximately $58.08 per subscriber.
Based on these figures, MTN Ghana generated about $21.36 more in service revenue per subscriber than its Nigerian counterpart, representing a difference of approximately 58.2%.
Although Nigeria contributed a considerably larger amount to MTN’s overall revenue, the Ghanaian operation generated more revenue relative to its subscriber base.
It is worth noting that these figures represent nine-month service revenue divided by the reported subscriber base, rather than conventional monthly average revenue per user (ARPU).
MTN Nigeria’s revenue growth driven by data consumption
MTN Nigeria recorded a strong financial performance during the period, with service revenue increasing by 23.7% year-on-year to ₦4.586 trillion.
Its profit after tax (PAT) rose by 55.3% to ₦1.17 trillion, compared with ₦750.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
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Data remained the company’s largest revenue contributor, generating ₦2.68 trillion, representing a 35.8% increase from the previous year. It accounted for approximately 58.5% of total service revenue.
The growth was supported by increasing internet adoption and higher customer consumption. Active data users increased by 12% to 57.2 million, while average monthly data consumption per active user grew by 16.2% to 15.3GB.
Voice revenue also maintained a strong contribution, increasing by 11.1% to approximately ₦1.50 trillion. The growth was supported by the expansion of MTN’s mobile subscriber base, which increased by 10.9% to 94.7 million.
However, fintech revenue declined by 25.9% to ₦97.5 billion, partly reflecting the temporary suspension of its airtime and data credit service between April and June 2026.
Despite this decline, MTN reported that its core mobile money business recorded revenue growth of 102.2%, while its airtime and data credit service continued recovering following its resumption under a multi-partner model.
MTN Ghana records stronger revenue growth
MTN Ghana also delivered an impressive performance, recording GH¢23.2 billion in service revenue for the nine months ended September 2026, representing a 33.5% year-on-year increase.
Its profit after tax increased by 43% to GH¢7.8 billion, while earnings per share reached GH¢0.586.
The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 40.6% to GH¢14.3 billion. Its EBITDA margin also expanded by 3.1 percentage points to 61.5%, reflecting stronger revenue generation and improved operating efficiency.
Subscriber growth remained another important contributor to the performance.
MTN Ghana’s mobile subscriber base increased by 12.7% to 34.3 million, while active data users grew by 16.1% to 22 million.
Its Mobile Money (MoMo) platform also recorded growth, with active users increasing by 6.9% to 18.9 million.
The company’s performance was supported by increasing demand for data services, digital platforms and mobile financial services.
Nigeria and Ghana remain important markets for MTN Group
The performance of both subsidiaries also reflects their growing importance to MTN Group’s overall financial results.
In its latest September 2026 update released on November 9, MTN Group reported that service revenue increased by 17.2% in constant-currency terms to R176.2 billion for the first nine months of the year.
The group attributed its performance partly to sustained growth in Nigeria and Ghana, alongside improving contributions from other markets, including Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.
MTN Nigeria recorded a 19.7% increase in service revenue during the third quarter, compared with 13.2% in the second quarter. Its growth momentum also strengthened towards the end of September, reaching 21.6%.
Meanwhile, MTN Ghana recorded a 35.7% increase in third-quarter service revenue, supported by growth across data, voice, digital services and Mobile Money.
The group’s overall performance reflects increasing demand for connectivity and digital financial services across its African markets.
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Although Nigeria remains the larger revenue market because of its significantly higher subscriber base, Ghana’s stronger revenue contribution relative to its customers highlights the potential for further monetisation in both markets.
With continued investment in network infrastructure, data services and fintech platforms, the two subsidiaries remain important contributors to MTN Group’s growth strategy.
