MTN Group Limited (JSE: MTN) has launched a R6 billion share-buyback programme after reporting a 21.3% increase in adjusted headline earnings per share to 793 cents for the first half of 2026. Group service revenue reached R115.3 billion, up 9.7% on a reported basis and 17.5% in constant currency, while EBITDA before once-off items increased to approximately R56 billion.
The adjusted result is stronger than the statutory headline. Reported HEPS declined 5.8% to 615 cents, driven largely by a R3.9 billion non-cash impairment on MTN’s 49% interest in MTN Irancell and foreign-exchange effects associated with South Sudan.
The buyback, worth approximately US$375 million at contemporaneous exchange rates, began immediately. MTN did not declare an interim dividend, making the repurchase programme the primary direct capital return announced alongside the half-year numbers.
Why do MTN’s adjusted and reported earnings tell such different stories?
The R3.9 billion Irancell impairment is the principal reason reported HEPS moved in the opposite direction from adjusted earnings. The charge reflects deteriorating economic and currency conditions around the Iranian investment rather than a comparable decline in MTN’s core African telecom operations.
US sanctions continue to complicate MTN’s ability to exit Iran and repatriate value. Approximately R880 million of dividends associated with the Iranian operation remain trapped, demonstrating that the problem is not only an accounting valuation issue but also a practical cash-access constraint.
For investors, adjusted HEPS of 793 cents gives a clearer view of recurring operational performance, while the 615-cent reported figure captures the economic reality that MTN still owns an asset whose value is difficult to realise.
Neither measure should therefore be ignored. The operating company is improving, while the portfolio still carries geopolitical baggage.
How much growth is coming from outside South Africa?
MTN South Africa delivered only about 1.5% service-revenue growth, while operations including Nigeria and Ghana expanded far faster. Constant-currency group service revenue growth of 17.5% therefore increasingly reflects the performance of MTN’s wider African footprint rather than its home market.
Nigeria remained a particularly important growth engine, supported by tariff adjustments, data adoption and improving operating conditions. Ghana also recorded strong expansion.
That geographic mix creates powerful growth potential but also exposes MTN to currencies, regulation and sovereign risk across numerous jurisdictions. The Iran impairment is an extreme example of what can happen when geopolitical events overwhelm otherwise valuable telecom assets.
MTN’s scale partly offsets that risk. The group serves approximately 317.7 million customers across 19 markets, allowing stronger regions to absorb weakness elsewhere rather than tying the earnings story to a single economy.
Is MTN becoming more of a data and fintech business than a voice operator?
Data revenue rose substantially faster than voice. MTN reported data revenue of approximately R57.6 billion, while voice revenue fell on a reported basis to about R30.4 billion. Active data subscribers increased to around 179.3 million and data traffic expanded by more than 20%.
Fintech revenue reached approximately R14.9 billion, with constant-currency growth stronger than the reported percentage. Mobile Money active users increased to about 70.8 million, while transaction value reached approximately US$330.5 billion for the half year.
The transaction value is enormous relative to fintech revenue because MTN does not recognise the gross value of money moving across its platform as revenue. It earns fees and other economics from those transactions.
That distinction is essential when evaluating fintech scale. US$330 billion of payments demonstrates platform activity, not US$330 billion of MTN sales.
Why launch a R6 billion buyback instead of an interim dividend?
A repurchase allows MTN to return capital while reducing the number of shares outstanding, potentially increasing per-share economics for remaining investors. It also gives management more flexibility over timing than a fixed dividend commitment.
The decision is supported by a relatively strong balance sheet. MTN reported group net debt to EBITDA of around 0.3 times, giving it considerably more flexibility than during periods when leverage and holding-company debt were larger constraints.
The R6 billion programme is also modest relative to the scale of operations. It equals only about 5% of H1 service revenue, although revenue is not the correct denominator for assessing distributable cash.
The more relevant point is that MTN believes current cash generation can fund network investment, manage liabilities and still support a sizeable repurchase programme.
What could derail MTN’s stronger earnings trajectory?
Currency remains a major variable because much of MTN’s growth is generated outside South Africa but reported in rand. Regulation is another recurring risk, especially around pricing, mobile money, spectrum and infrastructure.
Iran remains the clearest geopolitical overhang. The R3.9 billion impairment has already reduced reported H1 earnings and the R880 million of trapped dividends shows why an eventual exit could be complicated even if MTN identifies a willing buyer.
At the operating level, the challenge is whether Nigeria, Ghana and other faster-growing markets can continue expanding strongly enough to offset slower South African growth.
The H1 result suggests they currently can. MTN is producing double-digit adjusted earnings growth, higher margins and strong digital adoption while simultaneously absorbing a multibillion-rand impairment from an investment it would prefer to exit. The R6 billion buyback is effectively management’s statement that the operating momentum deserves greater weight than the Iran drag.
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