Capital expenditure, including leases, jumped 62.7% to UGX 455.1 billion, as the company accelerated network builds and fiber expansion. Capex excluding leases rose 44.6% to UGX 317.7 billion.
MTN Uganda Limited reported that its first half profit after tax rose 37.7% to UGX 367.5 billion, helped by higher revenue and a smaller tax bill, as Africa’s largest listed telecom by subscribers in the country recovered from network disruptions earlier in the year.
The company, a unit of South Africa’s MTN Group, said total revenue for the six months to June 30, 2026 rose 9.7% to UGX 1.9 trillion, from UGX 1.7 trillion a year earlier.
Service revenue grew 9.4% to UGX 1.87 trillion driven by data and fintech. Data revenue rose 15.6% to UGX 566.8 billion. MTN said growth was curbed in the first quarter by internet outages and competition from unlicensed public Wi-Fi providers, but recovered in the second quarter.
Fintech revenue, which includes mobile money and the Xtratime airtime advance service, rose 10.7% to UGX 580.6 billion. Mobile money transaction value climbed 26.8% to UGX 113.3 trillion, while transaction volumes rose 9.5% to UGX 2.6 billion.
Voice revenue increased 1.8% to UGX 640.4 billion, a performance the company attributed to subscriber retention efforts that offset the impact of a new mobile termination rate introduced earlier this year.
The income tax expense fell 43.1% from a year earlier, when the company paid a one off transfer pricing settlement. That helped lift the net profit margin to 19.5% from 15.5%.
Total subscribers grew 11.2% to 25.4 million. Active data subscribers rose 16.3% to 12.6 million and active fintech subscribers rose 11.5% to 14.8 million.
Capital expenditure, including leases, jumped 62.7% to UGX 455.1 billion, as the company accelerated network builds and fiber expansion. Capex excluding leases rose 44.6% to UGX 317.7 billion.
The board declared a quarterly interim dividend of 8.75 shillings per share, worth UGX 195.9 billion. Total dividends declared for the first half now stand at 17.25 shillings per share, or UGX 386.2 billion. The stock goes ex-dividend on the book closure date of September 1, with payment due September 18.
“MTN Uganda delivered a solid performance in the first half of 2026, with improving momentum in the second quarter, as the business recovered from the disruptions experienced earlier in the year,” chief executive Sylvia Mulinge said in a statement.
MTN appointed Phrase Lubega as managing director of its mobile money unit in June, succeeding Sarah Bateta Okwi, who led the business during the transition.
Uganda’s economy grew an estimated 6.4% in the 2025/26 financial year, according to the finance ministry, though the central bank has flagged upside risks to inflation from the conflict in the Middle East, including potential pressure on fuel prices and the shilling.
