Tax settlement trims MTN’s half year profits

KAMPALA - MTN Uganda has posted a sh267b profit for the first half of 2025, down 9.7% from a year earlier, as a one-off tax settlement dented the bottom line despite stronger operating performance.

The decline in net profit was mainly due to a sh110.9b settlement with the Uganda Revenue Authority covering a transfer pricing audit from 2012 to 2024. Without this, MTN said adjusted profit after tax would have been up 27.8% to sh377.9b.

The telecom firm made the disclosures in its Interim Financial Results For The Six months ended June 30. The telecom declared an interim dividend of sh10 per share, worth sh223.9b, to be paid on September 19.

Revenue rose 13.1% to sh1.72 trillion, lifted by a 31.3% jump in data income to sh490.2b and an 18.6% rise in fintech earnings to sh524.6b.

Voice revenue was flat at sh629b, held back by changes to mobile termination rates.

Chief executive Sylvia Mulinge said the results reflected solid momentum in MTN’s key commercial and financial metrics despite regulatory changes and a challenging environment.

“Shareholders have also approved the separation of our mobile money business, which will position it for faster growth and unlock further value,” she said.

“MTN Uganda continued to contribute to the country’s fiscal tax development by paying Ush 681 billion in direct and indirect taxes in H1 2025 over and above the recent settlement. We remain committed to being a responsible corporate citizen in Uganda.”

Customer numbers grew 10.2% to 22.8 million, with active data users up 23.4% to 10.8 million. The volume of mobile money transactions rose 20.3% to 2.4 billion, while their value climbed 28.7% to sh89.3 trillion.