MTN Uganda posted a 21.2 percent growth in net profit to an equivalent of Sh18.2 billion in the nine months ended September, helped by the absence of a tax of Ush111 billion (Sh3.5 billion) paid a year earlier.
The Uganda Securities Exchange-listed telco, whose owners include Kenyan investors, had made a net profit of Sh15 billion the year before.
“Profit after tax increased by 21.2 percent to Ush571.2 billion and earnings per share to Ush25.5, with net profit margin improving by two percentage points to 19.8 percent,” the telco said.
The company added that net income would have dropped by 1.9 percent—excluding the tax settlement—as higher depreciation and finance costs offset growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
MTN’s sales rose 8.5 percent to Sh91.8 billion, with mobile money and data leading the revenue growth. The company declared an interim per share dividend of Ush4 (Sh0.127) for the quarter ended September, with the distribution to be made on December 18 to investors on record as of December 1.
MTN started paying a quarterly dividend from the first three months of this year, ending its previous tradition of making distributions at the half-year, third quarter and full-year mark.
The latest dividend is lower than the Ush10.5 (Sh0.335) per share paid for the 2025 third quarter as the company adjusts to a more regular payouts schedule.
“To align shareholder distributions with near-term cash generation and preserve financial flexibility, the board recommended a lower dividend per share for the quarter,” MTN’s chief executive Sylvia Mulinge said.
She noted that on a cumulative basis, the company’s dividend payout per share for the nine months is slightly higher at Ush21.25 (Sh0.678) compared to Ush20.5 (Sh0.654) in the same period last year.
This represents a payout ratio of 83.3 percent of the nine months’ net income, being higher than the company’s policy of distributing at least 75 percent of net profits as dividends.
MTN says the separation of its financial services business (MTN MoMo) from the telecommunications operation is yet to be concluded.
“The proposed structural separation of the fintech business remains under regulatory review,” the company said.
“Implementation is subject to a number of conditions, including MTN Uganda and MTN MoMo receiving all required regulatory approvals and no-objections and complying with any regulatory conditions.”
The decoupling of the businesses is aimed at making it easier to grow the mobile money division and attract investors interested purely in financial technology, following a strategy that was implemented earlier by Airtel Africa.
MTN Uganda earlier said the separation will eventually lead to the listing of the mobile money unit, with current investors holding stakes in both firms.
