MTN Uganda has recorded a landmark UGX641.5 billion in net profit for 2024, reflecting a strong financial performance and a year of sustained commercial momentum. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Mulinge, the company has not only maintained its market dominance but also expanded its digital and fintech services, driving substantial revenue growth.
Record Financial Performance
MTN Uganda’s total revenue grew by 18.9% to UGX3.17 trillion, driven by double-digit growth across all key business lines. Service revenue, which forms the bulk of earnings, rose by 19.5% to UGX3.14 trillion. This growth was attributed to the strong performance of its voice, data, and fintech services.
Voice revenue increased by 12.7% to UGX1.3 trillion, while data revenue surged by 30.5% to UGX811.8 billion. Fintech revenue recorded a 22.8% growth to UGX947.5 billion, underpinned by increasing mobile money transaction volumes and a strong adoption of digital financial services.
“Our Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 20.7% to UGX1.7 trillion, with an improved margin of 52.2%, up 0.8 percentage points. Profit After Tax (PAT) surged by 30.1% to UGX641.5 billion, while earnings per share increased to UGX28.7, demonstrating strong value for investors,” stated Mulinge in a letter to shareholders accompanying the published results.
Strengthening Market Position Through Network Expansion
MTN Uganda continued its aggressive network expansion, with capital expenditure (excluding leases) increasing by 18.3% to UGX418 billion. This investment enabled significant expansion of 4G and 5G coverage across the country.
“Our 4G and 5G population coverage increased to 87.9% and 15.3%, respectively, with growth in our 5G sites to 538, from just 37 in 2023. Notably, we were recognized at the 2024 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for having the fastest network in Uganda and the fastest LTE network in Africa,” Mulinge highlighted.
MTN also expanded its home broadband services, increasing fiber network coverage by 47.2% to 17,774 km, doubling its fiber-to-the-home subscriber base in 2024.
Fintech and Digital Expansion Driving Growth
The fintech sector remained a key growth driver, with active fintech subscribers rising by 13.9% to 13.8 million. Mobile money transactions grew by 26.6% to 4.3 billion, while transaction values surged by 19.1% to UGX158.6 trillion. Advanced services revenue, including payments and banking solutions, rose by 39.1%.
“We refined the criteria for our merchant activity, which resulted in a restatement of the number of merchants reported. Following the changes, our merchant network grew by 19.6% to 85.9k, supported by strategic investments in regional acquisition and merchant quality management, while our agents increased by 36.8% to 213k,” Mulinge noted.
Delivering Value to Shareholders
In June 2024, MTN Uganda successfully concluded the second phase of its listing, increasing public shareholding to 20%. The secondary market offer was 2.3 times oversubscribed at UGX170 per share, indicating strong investor confidence.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to create further shared value, partnering with our local shareholders to deepen the Uganda capital markets,” Mulinge stated.
As a reward for investors, the company announced an increased final dividend of UGX8.5 per share, a 32.8% increase, bringing the full-year dividend to UGX22.6 per share.
Navigating the Regulatory Landscape
Despite its strong financial results, MTN Uganda faced regulatory challenges, including a Uganda Communications Commission directive to reduce local mobile termination rates (MTR) by 44% to UGX26. This impacted voice revenues in Q4. Additionally, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) launched an investigative audit of the telecom sector’s tax compliance from 2018-2022.
“MTN Uganda is cooperating fully with this process, providing comprehensive data and necessary clarifications in a timely and transparent manner,” Mulinge assured stakeholders.
Commitment to Sustainability and Community Impact
MTN Uganda continued to invest in community initiatives through the MTN Uganda Foundation, directing over UGX4.6 billion towards education, youth empowerment, healthcare, and disaster relief programs, impacting more than 6,800 beneficiaries.
“We remained committed to contributing meaningfully to the communities we serve through the MTN Uganda Foundation,” Mulinge stated. The company also achieved an 8.5% reduction in Scope 1 emissions by deploying smart energy monitoring tools.
Outlook for 2025 and Beyond
Looking ahead, MTN Uganda aims to maintain its growth trajectory by further expanding its fintech services, deepening smartphone penetration, and executing the structural separation of its fintech business in line with MTN Group’s transformation strategy.
“We maintain our medium-term guidance framework of delivering service revenue growth in the ‘upper-teens’ with stable EBITDA margins above 50%,” Mulinge emphasized.
As MTN Uganda approaches the final year of its Ambition 2025 strategy, the company is well-positioned to accelerate its commercial and operational initiatives to unlock even greater value for stakeholders. “As we execute the final year of our strategy, we are energized to accelerate our commercial and operational initiatives in line with our strategic goals.”
With a robust financial base, strategic investments, and a continued focus on digital transformation, MTN Uganda is set to maintain its leadership in Uganda’s telecommunications sector and drive greater financial and digital inclusion.