MTN Uganda has kicked off 2025 with a commanding financial performance, reporting a UGX 181 billion profit after tax (PAT) for the first quarter ending March 31.
This marks an impressive 20.6% jump from UGX 150 billion in Q1 2024, underscoring the firm’s dominance in Uganda’s telecom and fintech sectors.
The company’s success is largely credited to CEO Sylvia Mulinge, whose strategic leadership has steered MTN Uganda through a highly competitive market.
Under her watch, MTN has stayed firmly aligned with its ambitious “Ambition 2025” roadmap, which focuses on making the company Uganda’s top platform business.
Strong Financials Across the Board
| Metric | Q1 2025 Value | Change (YoY) |
|---|---|---|
| Service Revenue | UGX 841.4 billion | +13.5% |
| Data Revenue | UGX 235.6 billion | +32.5% |
| Fintech Revenue | UGX 255.6 billion | +18.4% |
| Voice Revenue | UGX 320.1 billion | +1.5% |
| EBITDA | UGX 444 billion | +13.7% |
| EBITDA Margin | 52.4% | Maintained |
| PAT Margin | 21.3% | Improved |
| Fintech Transaction Volume | 1.2 billion transactions | +19.9% |
| Fintech Transaction Value | UGX 42 trillion | +23.9% |
Subscriber Growth and Network Expansion
The company’s subscriber base expanded by 14.6%, adding 2.9 million new users to hit a total of 22.8 million.
Active data users surged 19.4% to 10.2 million, while fintech users rose 9.8% to 13.6 million.
On the infrastructure front, 5G coverage grew by 16.3%, while 4G coverage now stands at an impressive 88%, ensuring better access and quality for customers.
Leadership That Delivers
Since taking over as CEO in October 2022, Sylvia Mulinge has played a pivotal role in transforming MTN Uganda.
Her leadership was recently recognized when she was named the best MTN CEO across Africa at the MTN Global Leadership Gathering in Johannesburg.
Speaking about the Q1 results, Mulinge said, “Despite the regulatory MTR changes, we are pleased with the solid strategic execution that supported growth in other areas of our business, while ensuring margin resilience and value preservation in our operation.”
Looking Ahead
The company plans to complete the structural separation of MTN MoMo by the end of Q2 2025, a move expected to boost operational efficiency.
Additionally, MTN recently signed a network-sharing deal with Airtel Uganda to reduce infrastructure costs and improve sustainability.
Financially, MTN Uganda is on firm ground, with net debt falling by 2.4% to UGX 1.12 trillion and the leverage ratio improving to 0.6x.
For the full year, the company is targeting service revenue growth in the upper teens, stable EBITDA margins above 50%, and capex intensity in the low teens—clear signals of confidence in continued growth.
MTN Uganda’s robust Q1 performance reflects not just strong market positioning, but also a commitment to advancing Uganda’s digital economy.
With the right strategies and partnerships, the telecom giant looks set to maintain its leadership and deliver sustained value for shareholders, customers, and the country at large.
