MTN Group is making more money from its core telecom business, but its profits are heading in the opposite direction. Africa’s largest telecom operator expects headline earnings per share to fall by as much as 30% in the first half of 2026, even as its underlying earnings rise by up to 23%.
The reason is Iran.
A large impairment on MTN’s 49% stake in Irancell, an Iranian telecom operator, alongside foreign exchange losses and hyperinflation, is dragging down headline earnings despite stronger underlying performance, according to the company’s trading statement on Tuesday.
MTN’s underlying earnings are expected to rise by up to 23%, but a write-down on its Irancell investment, compounded by hyperinflation and foreign exchange losses, is dragging reported earnings lower.
MTN said it took a material hit on its 49% investment in Irancell because of geopolitical and economic conditions during the period, including the war in Iran. The impairment losses accounted for 213 cents of the difference between H1 2026 earnings per share and headline earnings per share, compared with 104 cents a year earlier.
The Group also recorded 178 cents in non-operational items, up from 12 cents in H1 2025. These included a 52-cent impact from hyperinflation and 126 cents from foreign exchange losses. The result is a sharp decline in reported earnings per share that does not directly reflect the performance of MTN’s underlying telecom operations.
Still, MTN said it expects earnings per share for the six months ended June 30 to come in between 377 cents and 431 cents, down 20% to 30% from the 539 cents reported in H1 2025.
But that decline masks a stronger underlying performance.
MTN projects adjusted headline earnings per share, which the company considers a better measure of operating performance, to rise 18% to 23%, from 657 cents in H1 2025 to between 775 cents and 808 cents.
“Overall, the MTN Group delivered a resilient performance, with strong commercial execution and disciplined capital allocation in the period,” the company said in its statement.
MTN also reported strong Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) margin expansion, free cash flow growth and cash upstreaming to the Group.
MTN said its operations in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda delivered “solid operational performance” during the first half. Nigeria remains an important growth market, but its fintech business is facing pressure. MTN believes this was partly driven by the regulatory suspension of airtime lending.
MTN’s South African business is facing tougher conditions. The group said the country’s prepaid market remained challenging in Q2 2026, particularly for voice revenue. “As previously communicated and expected, the South African prepaid market continued to be tough in Q2 2026, specifically on voice service revenue,” MTN said.
MTN is making progress on its proposed IHS acquisition. IHS shareholders voted in favour of the deal on August 4, giving MTN the required two-thirds majority to acquire the 75.3% of IHS it does not already own. The transaction would take MTN’s stake to 100% and result in IHS being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
The company said it expects to publish its full interim results on or about August 24.
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