MTN Ghana reported a total revenue of GHS17.9 billion in 2024 which is a 34.4 percent increase from 13.3 billion in 2023.
Overall service revenue increased by 34.5 percent year-on-year to GHS17.9 billion in 2024 from GHS13.3 billion in 2023 exceeding its medium-term growth target.
The robust expansion of digital services, mobile money (MoMo), and data contributed to its service revenue growth.
It also benefited from continuous investments in 4G connection, supported by programs to improve client growth and experience in general. It kept investing in its technology and network, spending GHS3.1 billion to upgrade its IT systems, increase coverage and capacity, and maintain network quality.
Data revenue rose by 53.8% to GHS9.0 billion
A significant rise was seen in data revenue, which increased 53.8 percent year over year to GHS9.0 billion.
Substantiating the efforts made to improve its network capacity and quality, this growth was driven by a 13.7 percent YoY increase in active data customers and increased smartphone use, which in turn led to a 19 percent increase in the megabytes spent per active user per month. As a result, the data traffic on its network increased by 35.3 percent year over year.
Data revenue now accounts for 50.2 percent of overall service revenue as against 43.9 percent in 2023.
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Voice revenue decreased by 0.9% to GHS3.5 billion
Due to a change from traditional calls to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services brought on by rising smartphone penetration and data usage, voice revenue fell 0.9 percent year over year to GHS3.5 billion.
A 13.5 percent increase in utilisation (measured in minutes) was facilitated by its CVM initiatives and other portfolio optimisation initiatives.
The change from a high effective price per minute to a lower effective price offers mitigated the revenue impact of this.
Voice revenue’s share of overall service revenue dropped to 19.7 percent while it is 26.8 percent in 2023, indicating a continued trend towards faster-growing goods and services including data and mobile financial services.
Momo revenue growth climbed to GHS4.4 billion by 54.4%
MoMo revenue continued its impressive upward trend, rising 54.4 percent year over year to GHS4.4 billion.
The primary causes of this increase were a reevaluation of the pricing structure, a considerable expansion in sophisticated services, and a 12.8 percent YoY increase in active users.
Withdrawals saw a strong 45.2 percent increase, while transfers rose 44.6 percent year over year.
The 82.8 percent YoY increase in advance services was driven by loan and payment products, outpacing both.
MoMo’s share of total service revenue has increased from 21.7 percent in 2023 to 24.9 percent in 2024.
Total costs increased by 38.9% to GHS7.7 billion
The total costs rose 38.9 percent year over year to GHS 7.7 billion. Macroeconomic issues like high inflation and the depreciation of the local currency, which had a major impact on operations costs like interconnect and roaming expenses, were major contributors to this increase in overall costs.
The increase was also influenced by the introduction of first-time management fees for Mobile Money Limited in 2024 and the expiration of the Group management fee license for Scancom Ltd in 2023, which resulted in a seven-month reprieve in management fee payments.
The higher-than-inflation increase was caused by a number of additional reasons, including increased power expenses. The overall cost growth, adjusted for this, would have been 26.4 percent.
EBITDA increased by 31.3% to GHS10.2 billion
EBITDA reached GHS10.2 billion, a 31.3 percent YoY increase. But the EBITDA margin dropped 1.4 percentage points to 57.1 percent.
The difficult macroeconomic circumstances, the cost considerations raised, and the base effects of the management fee that was not levied the year before, which impacted the year-over-year comparison, are all blamed for this reduction.
If the 2023 management fee reversal had been taken into account, the normalised EBITDA margin would have been 56.1 percent in 2023 and would have increased by 1.0 percentage points annually in 2024.
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Ghana’s macroeconomic climate
High inflation and the ongoing devaluation of the Ghana cedi defined the macroeconomic climate in Ghana in 2024. Inflation rates remained high even though they decreased and improved on average (22.9 percent) as compared to the prior year (40.3 percent).
Due to further pressure on food prices in the final quarter of 2024, the inflation rate for December 2024 was 23.8 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from the 21.5 percent reported in September 2024.
The ongoing devaluation of the Ghanaian cedi, which lost 19.2 percent of its value versus the US dollar throughout the year, made the severe inflation even worse.
These difficulties strained customers’ discretionary income and had a detrimental effect on corporate operations.
Positively, the government implemented a number of policy reforms and made great strides in restructuring the national debt.
These initiatives showed a dedication to budgetary consolidation and resulted in an economic rebound that was beyond expectations. Consequently, corporate and consumer confidence increased as well.
MTN Ghana stayed committed to its Ambition 2025 strategy targets, which include increasing service revenue, managing costs carefully, and adding value for all stakeholders, despite this macroeconomic environment.
EBITDA increased by 31.3 percent year over year and service revenue increased by 34.5 percent year over year as a consequence of its efforts throughout the year.
MTN Ghana CEO, Stephen Blewett, stated, “Despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges, our strategic initiatives and the unwavering dedication of our team have resulted in significant growth in our MoMo, data, and digital services.”