MTN South Africa delivered a mixed third-quarter performance for 2025, reporting growth in customer numbers but continued pressure on its voice and fintech segments. The telecoms operator added 2.1% more customers during the period, bringing its total subscriber base to 40.1 million. Despite this expansion, voice revenue declined 2.8% year-on-year, driven largely by weak activity in the consumer prepaid segment. The company noted that the decline was partially offset by a 4.4% rise in postpaid voice revenue, reflecting stronger engagement among higher-value users.
Service revenue rose 1.4% to R32.01 billion, yet profitability remained strained. EBITDA dropped 4.8%, while the EBITDA margin declined by 0.4 percentage points to 35.8%, influenced by tower disposals and insurance book transactions. Fintech revenue also contracted by 5.1%, a dip attributed to slower Xtratime activity and reduced recharges. Nonetheless, MTN highlighted robust performance in its MoMo InsurTech offerings, which continued to show strong demand.
Data services remained a bright spot for the business. Data revenue climbed 6.4% in the quarter and contributed 48.8% to total service revenue, up from 47.4% a year earlier. Active data subscribers increased 1.7% to 22 million, and data traffic surged by 24.7%, reflecting deeper digital engagement across the network. Average monthly data consumption among prepaid users rose sharply by 27% to 4.1GB, powered by higher smartphone penetration and expanding customer demand.
The company acknowledged that South Africa’s improving macroeconomic environment supported by steady inflation, softer interest rates, and currency stability provided some relief. However, MTN SA emphasized that intense market competition, particularly from Vodacom, Telkom, Cell C and Rain, continues to weigh heavily on prepaid revenue. The segment recorded a 1.7% decline as operators battled to maintain data monetisation amid aggressive pricing strategies.
MTN reiterated its commitment to improving prepaid performance through product refinement, regionalised and personalised pricing, and enhanced channel optimisation. While competitive pressure is expected to persist in the near term, the company believes service revenue and EBITDA margin should maintain steady momentum as strategic initiatives gain traction.
The operator remains cautiously optimistic heading into the final quarter, positioning data growth and customer experience improvements as key pillars for sustaining long-term performance.
