MTN Rwanda posts strong Q1 profit surge

MTN Rwandacell Plc (MTN Rwanda has staged a striking comeback in the first quarter of 2025, posting unaudited results that reveal surging profitability and commercial vigor despite a bruising price war with rivals.

Under Chief Executive Monzer Ali, the telecom giant leaned heavily on its fintech and data platforms to reverse earlier losses. Service revenue climbed sharply, cushioning the blow from cutthroat competition and flipping the company back into robust Profit After Tax growth, according to financials released Wednesday.

The numbers tell a story of a strategic pivot. Mobile Money (MoMo) revenues vaulted 28.0 percent year-on-year, seizing 49.1 percent of total service revenue—up from 43.0 percent a year earlier—and eclipsing traditional voice as the company’s biggest earner. Advanced MoMo services, including merchant payments and remittances, powered ahead by 44.2 percent.

ALSO READ: MTN NIGERIA SWINGS INTO N750BN PROFIT AFTER TAX IN NINE MONTHS

Data traffic told an even more dramatic tale: even as active data subscribers slipped 8.2 percent amid aggressive rival bundling, usage exploded 33.6 percent, lifting data revenue 12.2 percent. Smartphone connections on the network rose 21.4 percent to 3.2 million devices, pushing penetration to 41.8 percent.

Voice, by contrast, shrank 6.4 percent and now accounts for just 23.5 percent of service revenue, down from 28.2 percent in Q1 2024.

“We are encouraged by the recovery of our business during Q1, despite the continued aggressive competitive dynamics in the market,” Ali said in a statement. He credited disciplined network investment, customer-focused offers, and a stabilizing macro backdrop—Rwandan Franc depreciation eased and urban inflation stayed within the Central Bank’s target—for regaining lost ground.

Looking forward, MTN Rwanda doubled down on its Ambition 2025 roadmap: scaling data and fintech commercially, tightening costs, and sharpening market reflexes.