MTN’s Momo Suffers Decline as Telco Finally Returns to Profitability
- The MTN Nigeria's MoMo PSB active wallets decreased by 55.6% year over year to 2.1 million in the first quarter of 2025
- In Q1 2024, there were 4.8 million active wallets, a 25% drop from the previous quarter but in Q4 2024, there were 2.8 million active wallets.
- According to MTN, the number of agents and merchants on the MoMo network increased by 47.7% and 23.6%, respectively, compared to December 2024
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
The MTN In the first quarter of 2025, Nigeria's MoMo PSB active wallets fell by 55.6% year over year to 2.1 million.
Source: Getty Images
There were 4.8 million active wallets in Q1 2024 while 2.8 million wallets were active in Q4 2024.
According to the company's unaudited financial data for the first quarter of 2025, active wallets decreased as a result of its strategic focus on improving the quality of its ecosystem.
“This enabled us to onboard more high-value customers and improve float levels, thereby enhancing the overall health and sustainability of the ecosystem,” the company stated.
Karl Toriola, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, commented on the business's performance and stated that the company will be implementing a rural p*netration plan to provide access to financial services for underserved and financially excluded populations as part of its long-term goal to promote financial inclusion.
“We are now prepared to invest and intensify qualitative field acquisition efforts, particularly in rural and underserved areas, in line with our financial inclusion objectives.
“These efforts are aligned with our strategic objective to build a more robust, inclusive, and scalable digital financial ecosystem,” Toriola stated.,
In the meantime, MTN stated that, in comparison to December 2024, the number of agents and merchants on the MoMo network rose by 47.7% and 23.6%, respectively.
However, the company's fintech revenue increased by 57.9%, mostly due to its airtime lending product (Xtratime).
This year's first quarter saw MTN Nigeria generate N1 trillion in income, helped along by the recent tariff increase that was put into effect in mid-February 2025.
This marks a 40.5% year-over-year increase in revenue, even though the entire impact of the tariff adjustment has not yet been realized, compared to the N752.9 billion recorded in Q1 2024.
After recording a loss of N392.7 billion in Q1 2024, the company recovered to profitability in the quarter, reporting a profit after tax of N133.7 billion.
The company's fintech revenue increased from N22.8 billion in Q1 2024 to N36 billion in Q1 2025, thanks to the onboarding of high-value clients and increased float income.
Source: Getty Images
It added that the revamp of its customer acquisition strategy, which commenced in Q3 2024, allowed the company to further optimise its incentives and customer engagement framework to strengthen qualitative performance, deepen service p*netration, and enhance performance monitoring across sales and distribution channels.
Its digital services business saw a growth of 92.1%, while monthly active users of rich media services (excluding ayoba) declined by 19.4% to 7.9 million compared to December 2024 due to platform optimisation initiatives.
MTN Nigeria returns to profitability after two years
Legit.ng reported that investors finally heaved a sigh of relief as MTN Nigeria returned to profitability after two consecutive years of reporting losses.
The telecommunication giant released the financial report for the first quarter of 2025, showing that its books have returned to the black.
For the quarter, MTN Nigeria posted N133 billion in profits, an impressive development compared to the N14 billion loss posted in Q1 2024.
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Source: Legit.ng
