Higher earnings at MTN Nigeria have come with a smaller pile of money in the bank. For the nine months to 30 September 2026, profit after tax climbed 55.3% to ₦1.17 trillion, but MTN Nigeria cash and equivalents shrank by almost 40%, dropping from ₦632.5 billion in December 2025 to ₦381.0 billion, TechCabal reports.
Revenue from services expanded by 23.7% to reach ₦4.59 trillion. Nor can the lower cash balance be blamed on profits failing to convert into cash, since cash generated by operations, net of outflows, grew 48.2% to ₦2.31 trillion.
Where the MTN Nigeria cash went
Spending on investing activities totalled ₦1.33 trillion, while financing activities took ₦1.22 trillion. Added together, these payments were larger than the cash the business produced from its operations, so MTN Nigeria cash reserves absorbed the shortfall.
Dividends were the biggest single financing item, at ₦859.7 billion paid to shareholders, and that payout weighed heavily on MTN Nigeria cash. MTN Nigeria also repaid ₦188.5 billion in borrowings and ₦158.6 billion in lease principal.
The company paid out ₦1.00 trillion for property and equipment and a further ₦78.1 billion for intangible assets. A separate ₦76.1 billion went towards prepaid costs tied to the tax credit for road investment.
Part of the fall did not actually leave the company's holdings of financial resources. Short-term investments grew from ₦162.3 billion to ₦330.7 billion, which means that cash plus those short-term investments taken together declined by about 10.5%, from around ₦794.8 billion to ₦711.7 billion.
Data keeps driving growth
Revenue from data rose 35.8% to ₦2.68 trillion, supported by a 12% rise in the number of people actively using data, who now number 57.2 million. The overall subscriber base expanded by 10.9% to 94.7 million.
Revenue from core mobile money climbed by 102.2%, but overall fintech revenue slipped 25.9% once the halt to airtime and data lending took effect. Those services have since come back under a model involving several partners, and their revenue grew 78.5% compared with the previous quarter.
EBITDA, which stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, climbed 36.8% to ₦2.62 trillion, and across the nine months the margin moved up from 51.4% to 56.9%. A 25.3% drop took net finance costs down to ₦277.0 billion, and a stronger Naira added a foreign exchange gain of ₦80.1 billion. Should currency movements turn in the opposite direction, that gain could vanish.
A slimmer buffer, but no funding crisis
Where the balance sheet is concerned, there are improvements. Borrowings dropped from ₦527.7 billion to ₦333.3 billion, and equity belonging to shareholders went up 53.8% to ₦843.9 billion. According to management, all the debt is denominated in Naira and carries fixed rates.
Nonetheless, the company's net cash fell from ₦104.8 billion to ₦47.7 billion, and a number of big obligations remain on the balance sheet:
- Liabilities due within a year totalled ₦2.64 trillion, set against current assets of ₦1.19 trillion, which leaves a working-capital shortfall of roughly ₦1.46 trillion
- The amount of tax owed climbed to ₦710.3 billion
- Total lease liabilities stand at roughly ₦2.46 trillion
Not every short-term obligation requires an immediate cash outlay; contract liabilities, which concern workss the firm has been paid for but not yet performed, are one example. Healthy recurring income also helps the firm meet its debts as they come up for payment.
Diesel is the main pressure point
Power is estimated to make up 28 to 30% of the cost of running the business. According to a Priceandpromo survey, diesel cost ₦1,899 for each litre on average on 22 September, which is 91.8% more than on 13 January. The energy element of tower contracts follows the mean price of diesel at Lagos depots, ex-depot, over the preceding three months, so the accounts feel the effect of dearer fuel only after a delay.
Management reckons that if diesel averages ₦2,000 for each litre over the second half, the EBITDA margin for the full year could be trimmed by between 1.8 and 2 percentage points. That figure is a projection of exposure, not a loss that has been reported. During the third quarter, savings from efficiency measures, claims for VAT on inputs and a stronger Naira cancelled out the increase in tower costs.
MTN restated its medium-term guidance on revenue growth and margins. What matters now is whether the business can finance its expansion, honour its tax and lease commitments and reward shareholders, all while holding enough liquidity to withstand shocks.