MTN Nigeria Tops N19trn as Investors Bet on Earnings
MTN Nigeria Plc.’s market value topped N19 trillion on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as robust earnings performance triggered strong bargain hunting in the local bourse.
Investors showed significant interest in MTN Nigeria’s shares, expecting the company to maintain earnings momentum in 2026.
Boosted by its earnings beat, MTN Nigeria’s share price hit an all-time high of N915 last week, up 11.6% over four days from its N820 opening price. At the all-time high, MTN Nigeria is trading a significant distance from its 52-week low of N240 per share.
This suggests that the telecom company has a strong price trend that should boost shareholders’ wealth and serve as a hedge against Nigeria’s headline inflation.
At the close of the trading session in April, the market value of MTN Nigeria Plc.’s 20.995 outstanding shares increased to N19.210 trillion, the highest valuation on record in the Nigerian Exchange.
Q1 Earnings Catalyst
MTN Nigeria delivered exceptional financial performance in the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, posting its strongest quarterly earnings on record.
According to unaudited financials, total revenue grew by 41.62% year-on-year to ₦1.498 trillion from ₦1.058 trillion, driven by broad-based growth across all revenue streams.
Data remained the single largest income line, surging 56.16% to ₦826.1 billion, reflecting the continued deepening of smartphone penetration and rising broadband consumption.
MTN Nigeria’s earnings benefit from 50% tariff adjustment implemented in February 2025. Breakdown showed that voice revenue climbed 27.63% to ₦450.7 billion, while SMS revenue rose 40.38% to ₦54.6 billion.
Fintech – Value Added Services- delivered the most impressive growth among all segments, jumping 78.77% to ₦64.1 billion, according to details obtained from its Q1 earnings release.
The robust topline strengthened profit performance in Q1. Profit from operating activities surged 84.50% to ₦632.3 billion from ₦342.7 billion, reflecting not just revenue strength but meaningful operating leverage.
Total revenue grew 41.62% while total operating expenses rose 45.05% to ₦548.1 billion, a significant portion of which was driven by a 173.48% jump in employee expenses to ₦65.8 billion and an 86.96% rise in other operating expenses to ₦103.4 billion.
Reversing the previous trend, MTN Nigeria reported a net FX gain of ₦33.3 billion compared to a loss of ₦5.5 billion in Q1 2025.
Finance income also surged 228.44% to ₦24.1 billion, while finance costs were virtually flat at ₦143.3 billion versus ₦141.9 billion in the prior year, resulting in net finance costs narrowing sharply by 38.68% to ₦85.9 billion.
Profit before tax consequently leapt 169.64% to ₦546.4 billion from ₦202.6 billion in Q1 2025. After income tax expense of ₦190.9 billion, profit after tax grew 165.93% to ₦355.5 billion from ₦133.7 billion. Earnings per share climbed to 16.95 kobo from 6.37 kobo, a 166.09% year-on-year increase.
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