In its 2024 financial year report, MTN Nigeria mobile subscribers rose by 1.6 percent to 80.9 million, indicating an impressive growth from the previous year where it recorded 79.7 active mobile subscribers.
Despite the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) industry-wide mandate on NIN-SIM registration, MTN’s active data subscriber base grew by seven percent from 44.6 million in 2023 to 47.7 million subscribers in 2024.
The company said that its subscriber base grew as a result of constant innovation in its customer value offers.
Data traffic increased by 42.9%
Data traffic rose by 42.9 percent, with the average monthly data usage per user increasing by 33.6 percent to 11.2GB.
As a result, data revenue grew by 49.1 percent.
Additionally, smartphone penetration increased by 2.7 percentage points to 58.2 percent, while 4G coverage reached 82.4 percent of the population, and 5G coverage rose to 12.7 percent.
Read also: MTN Ghana records GHS17.9 billion revenue boost in 2024 amid inflation, cedi devaluation
Service revenue increased by 35.9%
Service revenue increased by 35.9 percent due to strong commercial momentum, with data, voice, fintech, and digital services leading the way. However, its voice and data services were the main drivers of the fourth quarter’s strong growth.
Additionally, there was a one-time revenue recognition associated with outstanding USSD debt owed by deposit money banks.
Due to increased utilisation and a growing user base, voice revenue increased by 14.5 percent, which was a good increase.
USSD debt recovery contributed N74 billion in revenue
The regulators’ intervention has cleared up the doubt around the recovery of the outstanding USSD debt, allowing it to recognise almost N74 billion in revenue.
About 34 percent has been paid back as of December 2024, with the remaining amount being recorded as receivables that are to be paid in 2025.
Underlying service revenue growth, excluding the USSD revenue recognition, stayed strong (up 32.8 percent) and was within the upper range of its FY 2024 projection of “high-20% to low 30%.”
Digital services revenue rose by 95.2%
Its digital services division grew significantly, with revenue rising by 95.2 percent.
Its rich media services’ increasing uptake and improvements to the user journey experience were the main drivers of this expansion.
Its rich media subscription increased by 22.4 percent to 9.8 million monthly active users by the end of the year.
The development of data services, fixed connectivity, and the USSD revenue recognition drove the enterprise business’s satisfying 97.4% revenue increase.
Home broadband reached 3.2 million subscribers
With more than 1.2 million new consumers, it maintained its position as the industry leader in home broadband, reaching 3.2 million subscribers overall.
It made use of its fiber-to-the-home and 5G fixed wireless technologies to deliver dependable connectivity and satisfy the growing digital demands of homes and businesses.
These initiatives support its goal of increasing broadband availability and encouraging the adoption of digital technology throughout Nigeria.
N400.4 billion loss after tax
Despite these gains, MTN reported a loss after tax of N400.4 billion due to forex losses from the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated liabilities. The loss contributed to a 4.3 percentage point rise in the effective tax rate to 27.2 perceny.
Tariff hike implementation
In response to rising costs, the telecom sector was granted approval to raise tariffs by up to 50 percent. MTN began implementing these adjustments in February 2025 to support long-term sustainability and continued investment in the industry.
In accordance with the NCC’s approvals, MTN Nigeria started enacting the tariff hikes on the majority of its goods and services in February.
It emphasised that it will evaluate the effects on the company while taking pricing elasticity and competitive dynamics into account.
MTN Nigeria’s CEO expresses optimism
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola stated, commended the resilience of “our business in FY 2024, which reflects our strong commitment to driving growth and managing costs.”
He continued, “Despite facing significant macroeconomic headwinds, including record-high inflation, as well as ongoing currency and energy price volatility, we remained focused on executing our strategy and creating long-term value for our stakeholders.”
“We are grateful to the authorities for the recent approval of tariff adjustments, which are essential for our industry’s sustainability and crucial for addressing our negative capital position,” he added.