MTN Nigeria tells a story of recovery, moving from losses to strong growth.
The company earned ₦546.42 billion pre-tax profit in Q1 2026, rising 169.64% year-on-year.
Strong Profit Recovery In 2026
It achieved this result and stayed just 4% below its ₦569.59 billion record in Q4 2025.
Overall, this quarter marks one of its strongest performances since listing on the stock exchange.
Revenue Growth Driven By Data And Users
In 2022, MTN Nigeria delivered ₦349 billion profit after tax before FX pressure hit.
However, in 2023, FX shocks pushed it into a ₦137 billion loss after tax.
Then in 2024, losses deepened further to ₦400 billion, eroding shareholder value significantly.
Despite this, the company sustained strong customer demand across all core services.
As a result, revenue grew from ₦2.01 trillion in 2022 to ₦5.20 trillion in 2025.
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In addition, Q1 2026 revenue climbed 41.6% to ₦1.49 trillion, showing strong momentum.
Meanwhile, MTN expanded its data business, which now generates over half of total revenue.
Data revenue jumped 74.5% to ₦2.78 trillion in 2025 as usage increased rapidly.
Subscribers also grew, with MTN reaching 87.3 million mobile users and 53.2 million data users.
At the same time, fintech gained traction, as MoMo wallets rose to 3.7 million users.
FX Gains Restore MTN Profitability
However, FX losses drove the earlier profit collapse during the naira depreciation cycle.
MTN recorded ₦740.43 billion FX losses in 2023 and ₦925.36 billion in 2024.
These losses wiped out operating gains, even as core business performance remained strong.
Later, conditions improved, and MTN benefited as FX pressure eased in 2025.
Consequently, it recorded a ₦90.27 billion FX gain in 2025 and ₦33.3 billion in 2026.
Furthermore, CEO Karl Toriola improved margins through tighter cost control and discipline.
He expanded EBITDA margin to 55.3% and lifted EBITDA by 68.1% year-on-year.
Still, MTN faces high finance costs, which reached ₦143.27 billion in Q1 2026.
Even so, investors rewarded the recovery, as market value rose to ₦16.8 trillion.
Finally, MTN now trades at about 15x earnings, reflecting renewed confidence.
