MTN Ghana Share Price Hits All-Time High Following Strong Q1 Results and MoMo Overhaul

MTN Ghana’s stock hit a new all-time high of GH₵3.21 on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, bolstered by robust first-quarter earnings and a strategic restructuring of its mobile money business.

The telecoms leader’s share price rose by 0.02 pesewas in trading, narrowly surpassing its previous record of GH₵3.20 set in March. Over 236,000 shares changed hands during the session, continuing the momentum from Monday’s 0.07 pesewa gain.

This market optimism follows the release of MTN’s Q1 2025 results, which showed a 53.7% surge in profit after tax to GH₵1.7 billion—despite persistent economic challenges such as inflation and currency depreciation. The company also announced a restructuring plan for its MobileMoney Ltd (MML) subsidiary in response to evolving regulatory demands.

“We’ve seen sustained growth across all business segments, particularly in fintech, data, and digital services,” said Stephen Blewett, CEO of MTN Ghana. “Our strategy execution and investment in network capacity have played a critical role in this strong start to the year.”

Service revenue climbed to GH₵5.4 billion, a 39.6% increase from Q1 2024. This was fuelled by spikes in data consumption, mobile money activity, and digital service engagement. The number of active data users rose by 10.8% to 17.8 million, while mobile subscribers increased 5.2% to 29.2 million.

MTN’s MoMo platform also saw significant growth, with active users rising 11.5% to 17.4 million and revenue from the service jumping 53.1% to GH₵1.3 billion. Expanded offerings like digital payments and micro-lending were key contributors.

Data revenue alone rose 54.9% to GH₵2.8 billion, with users consuming 39.7% more data on average each month. Data now represents 52.6% of MTN’s service revenue, compared to 47.4% a year earlier. Voice revenue saw a moderate 6.2% increase to GH₵951 million, while digital services experienced a 65.4% spike, driven by demand for entertainment and personalised content.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at GH₵3.1 billion—up 45%—with an EBITDA margin of 58.1%. Earnings per share also improved significantly, rising from GH₵0.084 to GH₵0.1292.

Capital investment during the quarter reached GH₵1.2 billion, with a focus on 4G coverage, IT infrastructure, and system resilience. The company’s 4G network now covers 99.3% of Ghana’s population.

Despite Ghana’s average Q1 inflation rate of 23.0% and a 17.1% depreciation of the cedi against the U.S. dollar, MTN Ghana was able to buffer the impact through sound debt management and returns from fixed-income investments.

One of the quarter’s most significant announcements was the restructuring of MTN’s MoMo business to comply with Ghana’s Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019, which mandates 30% local ownership for electronic money issuers. MML will be absorbed into a new entity, New FinCo, which will inherit all its operations and is expected to list separately on the GSE within three to five years.

To protect shareholder interests, a trust will hold 32.13% of New FinCo on their behalf until its listing. MTN has pledged a tax-neutral transition with shared costs across its corporate structure.

A detailed circular on the restructuring was released on May 2, with an Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled for May 21 at the Accra International Conference Centre. While the meeting is non-voting, shareholders will have the opportunity to gain insights into the restructuring plan.

Further fuelling investor optimism is the recent repeal of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), which is expected to boost mobile money transactions. MTN has already adjusted its systems to reflect the policy change.

Beyond business growth, MTN Ghana continued its social investments in Q1. The MTN Ghana Foundation commissioned an ICT lab at Yilo Krobo SHS, awarded 500 STEM scholarships, supported 200 small businesses, and organized a nationwide blood donation campaign collecting 6,000 units.

Looking ahead, the company has revised its medium-term service revenue growth target to the low-to-mid 30% range, with sustained profit margins projected in the mid-50s. MTN plans to continue executing its “Ambition 2025” strategy, focused on digital inclusion, operational efficiency, and platform development.