MTN Uganda Raises Dividend by 73% after Profit Rises to Ush 367Bn

MTN Uganda’s profit after tax rose 37.7% to a record Ush 367.49Bn in the half year ended June 2026, despite profit before tax slipping 3.4% to Ush 525.09 Bn, as a sharply lower tax charge offset weaker underlying operating momentum.

• The comparison was distorted by the prior-year Ush 110.9 Bn transfer-pricing settlement, which had depressed H1 2025 earnings; on an adjusted basis, MTN had reported PAT of Ush 377.90 Bn last year, slightly above the latest result.
• The mix has shifted materially over time: data revenue has more than doubled from Ush 237.65 Bn in H1 2022, while fintech has risen from Ush 302.12 Bn, leaving voice as the slowest-growing major revenue line.
• H1 dividends increased to Ush 17.25 per share from Ush 10.00 in H1 2025 and Ush 5.60 in H1 2023, reinforcing the improvement in cash returns even as operating growth moderates and investment requirements rise.

Service revenue grew 9.4% to Ush 1.87 Tn, supported by continued expansion in data and fintech, although growth slowed from 13.3% in H1 2025. Data revenue increased 15.6% to Ush 566.76 Bn and fintech revenue rose 10.7% to Ush 580.59 Bn, while voice revenue edged up just 1.8% to Ush 640.40 Bn.

Total subscribers rose 11.2% to 25.4 Mn, active data subscribers reached 12.6 Mn and fintech users 14.8 Mn. Data traffic grew 26.9%, while MoMo transaction value climbed 26.8% to Ush 113.3 Tn on 2.6 Bn transactions. Data now contributes 30.4% of service revenue, up from 22.9% in H1 2023, while voice’s contribution has fallen to 34.3% from 43.0% over the same period.

The main pressure point was costs. Total expenses rose 15.1%, faster than revenue, limiting EBITDA growth to 4.7% at Ush 967.51 Bn and narrowing the EBITDA margin to 51.2% from 53.7%. EBIT was almost unchanged, rising 0.2%, while higher lease costs from the network rollout also pushed up finance costs. The margin nevertheless remained above management’s medium-term floor of 50%, preserving one of the group’s key profitability benchmarks.

MTN also accelerated investment, with capex excluding leases rising 44.6% to Ush 317.67 Bn as it expanded network capacity, fibre and geographical coverage. The operator added 224 sites, lifting 4G population coverage to 93.3% and 5G coverage to 25.6%, while its fibre footprint grew to more than 35,000 kilometres.