MTN’s latest numbers tell two different stories: strong growth across the group, but no increase in South African service revenue in the third quarter.

The update released on 9 November shows group service revenue grew 16.6% in constant currency in Q3 2026. South Africa’s service revenue was flat over the same quarter, although its earnings improved.

Why South Africa is lagging

MTN attributes the pressure to weaker prepaid voice revenue, lower mobile termination rates and its decision to prioritise a more valuable prepaid customer base. Termination rates are the wholesale charges operators pay one another to connect calls.

Cost measures helped South African EBITDA rise 7.0% in Q3. The EBITDA margin increased by 3.6 percentage points to 38.1%. EBITDA measures earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation; it is not the same as net profit.

The period and currency matter

The widely quoted 17.2% group service-revenue increase covers the nine months to 30 September 2026, not Q3 alone. The detailed SENS announcement puts reported rand growth for those nine months at 9.9%, to R176.2 billion. South African service revenue rose 1.0% over that nine-month period.

Constant-currency growth strips out exchange-rate movements. MTN says a stronger rand reduced the translated value of its operations elsewhere in Africa. These comparisons are year on year, not growth from the preceding quarter.

What readers should watch next

SBL analysis: Better earnings with flat revenue suggest the immediate South African improvement is stronger on costs than sales. The next test is whether improving data demand can produce sustained service-revenue growth.

For households and small businesses, this announcement does not itself promise cheaper bundles or better coverage. Those require separate evidence on tariffs and network performance. MTN says rebuilding South African revenue momentum remains a priority for the rest of 2026.