From N400bn Loss to Record Profits: How MTN Nigeria Engineered a Stunning Turnaround

Just two years ago, MTN Nigeria was in deep trouble. The telecom giant posted a staggering N400 billion after‑tax loss in 2024, its second straight year in the red. Retained earnings had plunged to negative N607 billion, and shareholders’ funds were deeply negative.

The naira’s freefall had triggered nearly a trillion naira in foreign exchange losses, wiping out otherwise solid operating profits.

Fast forward to Q1 2026, and the same company has delivered one of its best quarterly performances since listing. Pre‑tax profit soared to N546.42 billion a 169.6% jump from N202.65 billion a year earlier. That marks the second‑highest quarterly pre‑tax profit ever for MTN Nigeria, just 4% below the record set in Q4 2025.

The share price has followed suit, rallying from N200 at the end of 2024 to over N900 in April 2026, before settling at N801 as of early May.

What changed? Contrary to popular belief, MTN never suffered from weak demand. Even during the loss‑making years, Nigerians kept spending heavily on calls, data, streaming, and mobile money.

Revenue rose consistently: from N2.01 trillion in 2022 to N2.47 trillion in 2023, then leapt to N5.20 trillion in 2025. The momentum has continued into 2026, with Q1 revenue climbing 41.6% year‑on‑year to N1.49 trillion. If annualised, the company is on track to pull in nearly N6 trillion in revenue this year.

The real culprit was currency collapse. In 2023 and 2024, MTN recorded a combined N1.66 trillion in FX losses as the naira depreciated sharply, ballooning the naira value of its foreign‑currency obligations and lease liabilities.

Those losses were large enough to erase healthy operating profits and push the company deep into the red.

But in 2025, the story flipped. The naira stabilised relative to previous extremes, and MTN recorded a net FX gain of N90.27 billion for the full year, followed by another N33.3 billion gain in Q1 2026. That reversal unlocked the company’s true earning power. Finally, strong operational performance could flow directly to the bottom line.

Behind the numbers is a fundamental shift in MTN’s business model. In 2022, voice still contributed 43% of revenue versus 38% for data. By 2023, data had overtaken voice as the largest revenue stream.

In 2025, data revenue surged 74.5% to N2.78 trillion, now contributing over 53% of total revenue. Data subscribers grew 11.6% to 53.2 million, while total mobile subscribers rose 7.9% to 87.3 million.

Meanwhile, fintech revenue jumped nearly 80% to N191.27 billion, with MoMo wallets expanding by 30.8% to 3.7 million users. MTN is no longer just a mobile operator; it is becoming a digital services and financial technology platform for Africa’s largest economy.

CEO Karl Toriola credited “strong operational discipline” for containing costs despite a challenging environment. EBITDA rose 68.1%, with margin expanding 8.7 percentage points to 55.3%, within the company’s medium‑term guidance of a mid‑to‑high 50% range.

For investors, the turnaround has triggered a sharp re‑rating. MTN Nigeria’s market capitalisation now stands at roughly N16.8 trillion, making it the third most valuable stock on the Nigerian Exchange.

After suspending dividends during the crisis, the company resumed payouts, declaring a total dividend of N20 per share for the 2025 financial year.

Yet risks remain. Finance costs have ballooned, reaching N143.27 billion in Q1 2026 alone almost equal to the full‑year finance cost in 2022. Full‑year 2025 finance costs stood at N524.91 billion. While the FX crisis may have eased, the cost of debt remains a significant burden.

Despite the strong rally in its share price, MTN Nigeria’s valuation does not yet look stretched. The company trades at a price‑to‑earnings ratio of about 15x, with a robust return on assets of 25.9%.

More tellingly, its PEG ratio which adjusts valuation for earnings growth stands at just 0.32x. That suggests the stock may still be undervalued relative to the pace of its earnings recovery.

For global African investors watching Nigeria’s telecom and digital economy, MTN’s journey from crisis to record profits offers a powerful case study in resilience, currency risk management, and the enduring value of connectivity.