MTN Uganda's nine-month profit surges 21% to Sh18.2 billion

MTN Uganda has reported a 21.2 percent growth in net profit to Sh18.2 billion for the nine months ended September. This increase is attributed to the absence of a tax of Sh3.5 billion paid in the previous year. The company's net profit margin improved by two percentage points to 19.8 percent. MTN Uganda's earnings per share rose to Sh25.5.

The company's profit after tax increased to Sh571.2 billion. MTN Uganda's sales rose 8.5 percent to Sh91.8 billion, driven by growth in mobile money and data revenue. The company's mobile money and data segments led the revenue growth during the period. MTN Uganda's financial performance was positively impacted by the non-recurrence of the tax settlement.

Excluding the tax settlement, MTN Uganda's net income would have dropped by 1.9 percent. This decline was due to higher depreciation and finance costs offsetting growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). The company's EBITDA growth was driven by increased revenue from mobile money and data services.

MTN Uganda declared an interim per share dividend of Sh0.127 for the quarter ended September. The distribution will be made on December 18 to investors on record as of December 1. This is part of the company's new quarterly dividend policy. MTN Uganda started paying a quarterly dividend from the first three months of this year.

The latest dividend is lower than the Sh0.335 per share paid for the 2025 third quarter. MTN Uganda's chief executive, Sylvia Mulinge, stated that the board recommended a lower dividend per share for the quarter to align shareholder distributions with near-term cash generation and preserve financial flexibility.

On a cumulative basis, MTN Uganda's dividend payout per share for the nine months is slightly higher at Sh0.678 compared to Sh0.654 in the same period last year. This represents a payout ratio of 83.3 percent of the nine months' net income, higher than the company's policy of distributing at least 75 percent of net profits as dividends.

MTN Uganda's separation of its financial services business, MTN MoMo, from the telecommunications operation is yet to be concluded. The proposed structural separation of the fintech business remains under regulatory review. Implementation is subject to regulatory approvals and no-objections. The decoupling of the businesses aims to make it easier to grow the mobile money division and attract investors interested in financial technology.

Key points

• MTN Uganda reports 21.2% growth in net profit to Sh18.2 billion for nine months ended September.
• The company's net profit margin improved by two percentage points to 19.8 percent.
• MTN Uganda's separation of its financial services business from the telecommunications operation is yet to be concluded.