MTN reports 34.5% revenue surge

By Deborah Asantewaah SARFO

MTN Ghana has reported a 34.5 percent year-on-year increase in service revenue for the 2024 financial year, raising shareholder dividends from 17.5 pesewas to 24 pesewas per share despite rising inflation, cedi depreciation and other economic challenges.

The payment of final dividends is scheduled for April 16, 2025, bringing the total dividend for the year to 30.5 pesewas per share – including an interim payout of 6.5 pesewas per share made on September 6, 2024.

At the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Accra, the Board Chairman of Scancom PLC, Ishmael Yamson, attributed the revenue growth to strategic initiatives focused on enhancing customer engagement and expanding service offerings.

Tax Contribution and Mobile Money Growth

In 2024, MTN Ghana contributed GH¢9.1billion to government revenue, with GH¢8.6billion stemming from direct and indirect taxes. Notably, the electronic levy (E-levy) accounted for    GH¢1.5billion of this amount.

The company’s mobile money (MoMo) segment recorded a 54.4 percent year-on-year revenue increase, reaching GH¢4.4billion. This growth was driven by a 12.8 percent rise in active subscribers.

Similarly, transactional activity on the platform grew by 17.4 percent while transfer and withdrawal revenues surged by 44.6 percent and 45.2 percent respectively.

Additionally, MoMo’s contribution to total service revenue increased by 3.2 percentage points, rising from 21.7 percent in the previous year to 24.9 percent.

MTN Ghana’s Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Blewett, noted that the growing importance of MoMo in the revenue diversification journey and highlighted its potential for future growth.

Outlook for 2025

He acknowledged the challenging macroeconomic outlook for 2025, warning that economic pressures could affect growth and consumer spending.

“MTN Ghana will actively pursue cost efficiencies and maintain spending discipline to mitigate the effects of inflation on our overall operational costs,” Mr. Blewett said.

Despite economic headwinds, the company remains focused on sustaining growth through strategic investments and operational efficiency.

In improving the network challenges often faced by customers, the company spent                 GH¢3.1billion in ex-lease capex within the year to maintain high network quality, expand geographic coverage and upgrade technology infrastructure.

He stated that other achievements concerning MTN’s technology modernisation initiatives include the successful completion of upgrades and technology swaps across the Greater Accra Region, adding that “it played a crucial role in our service delivery enhancements”.

He emphasised that these strategic investments have paid off, leading to a robust growth of 6.5 percent in their customer base.

In the year under review, the company recorded an inverse relationship between its data and voice revenue. While the former saw a significant growth of 53.8 percent to GH¢9billion, the former decreased by 0.9 percent year-on-year to GH¢3.5billion.

According to Mr. Blewett, the increase in data revenue was mainly influenced by significant enhancements in network connectivity which facilitated a 13.7 percent rise in active data subscribers – bringing the total active users to approximately 17.5 million.

Concerning the decline in voice calls, he attributed it to a significant shift in customer behaviour from traditional phone calls to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

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