MTN Uganda revenue rises 8.5% as wi-fi resellers, weak shilling bite

MTN Uganda’s revenue rose 8.5% to UGX2.88 trillion (about US$750 million) in the nine months to September 2026, driven by its data and fintech businesses, as higher operating costs and a weaker shilling weighed on profitability.

Service revenue grew 8.5% to UGX2.84 trillion. The subscriber base rose 12.5% to 26.4 million, giving the operator a 63.4% share of Uganda’s telecoms market.

Data and mobile financial services contributed 86% of service revenue growth and made up 62% of total service revenue.

Data revenue rose 12.8% to UGX860.6 billion, supported by a 31.9% increase in data traffic, while active data subscribers grew 14.3% to 12.6 million.

Fintech revenue grew 11.6% to UGX902.8 billion. Mobile money transaction value climbed 18.3% to UGX166.6 trillion, active fintech subscribers rose 8.6% to 15.5 million, and the merchant network more than doubled to 202,800.

Voice revenue grew just 1.6% to UGX964.1 billion, partly because of changes to mobile termination rates.

Wi-fi resellers hit data growth

The operator’s data business came under pressure in the third quarter. Data revenue growth slowed to 7.8%, from 17.5% in the second quarter, as unauthorised public wi-fi resellers offered unlimited internet packages using business fibre and fixed wireless connections.

MTN Uganda said regulatory enforcement against the resellers began in October.

CEO Sylvia Mulinge also pointed to higher fuel, food and transport costs, along with a weaker Ugandan shilling, which fell 7% in the third quarter and 8.3% since the start of 2026.

Operating expenses rose 14.6% over the nine months. EBITDA grew a slower 3% to UGX1.47 trillion, and the EBITDA margin narrowed by 2.8 percentage points to 51.1%.

Profit after tax rose 21.2% to UGX571.2 billion (about US$148 million). However, the comparison was flattered by a UGX111 billion tax settlement recorded in the same period last year. Excluding that one-off, profit after tax would have fallen 1.9%. Third-quarter net profit slipped 0.2% to UGX203.8 billion.

Capital expenditure, excluding leases, rose 32.6% to UGX397.7 billion. That funded 255 new network sites, expanded the fibre network to more than 40,000km and lifted 5G population coverage to 25.6%. 4G now covers 94% of the population.

The operator also brought its MTN Group partnership with Starlink to Uganda and launched MTN TV by AfroMobile.

The heavier investment came with weaker cash generation. Net cash from operating activities fell 10.2%, and cash and cash equivalents dropped to UGX163.6 billion from UGX383.3 billion a year earlier. Net debt to EBITDA rose to 0.9 times, from 0.7 times at the end of 2025.

The board declared a third-quarter interim dividend of UGX4 per share, or UGX89.6 billion, lower than in previous quarters. The company said it was aligning dividends with near-term cash generation. Dividends for the nine months total UGX21.25 per share, up 3.7%.

MTN Uganda expects full-year service revenue growth to be broadly in line with the nine-month figure, below its medium-term guidance, with an EBITDA margin of about 50%. The outlook reflects a tougher economy, after the Bank of Uganda raised its central bank rate by 225 basis points to 12% and cut its FY2026/27 growth forecast to 6% to 6.5%.

Regulatory review of plans to structurally separate MTN Uganda’s fintech business is ongoing.

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