As part of our integrated thinking, we continuously examine the availability and quality of our capital inputs in a bid to entrench effective decision making within the Group. We outline the value-creation considerations, trade-offs and impact on the Group's various stakeholders during the year in the following pages.
Outcomes and trade-offs
What does natural capital mean to MTN?
Spectrum, energy and land. We need all these natural resources to provide our services. Spectrum availability is constrained in many markets, challenging service quality. Similarly, the supply of electricity is not uniform across our operations, with implications for maintaining consistent network availability
Creating shared value is one of our strategic priorities. Our sustainability objectives align with MTN's purpose of enabling the benefits of a modern connected life for everyone, integrating ESG principles as an enabler of business resilience, risk mitigation and create long-term value.
We engage with industry bodies to advocate for fair spectrum management. We also proactively manage spectrum renewals and licence applications while optimising spectrum allocation to support future network growth.
The business continues to expand its use of solar and other renewable energy sources for powering sites. This provides cost savings and greater network reliability in many areas with both reduced downtime and capital costs in the near and longer term.
We are focused on reducing our product packaging and e-waste footprint. By increasing the use of recyclable materials, we are achieving both cost efficiencies and environmental gains while reducing e-waste and improving affordability and accessibility for the wider population. BioSIMs, while still nascent, are an exciting innovation aligned with our natural capital ambitions.
In 2024, we achieved a 46% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions (tCO2e), exceeding our target of 12.5%. While this is good progress, our operations still impact natural capital by using non-renewable resources, and through our emissions and wastes. This reduction was supported by the sale of towers in South Africa, resulting in a decrease in Scope 1 and 2 but an increase in Scope 3 emissions.
While emissions may be deemed as negative in terms of our natural capital, we are pleased to have reduced the value erosion through the decline in our waste.
Our investment in renewable energy sources (mainly in South Africa) has been to the benefit of both the manufactured and social capitals, but at the short-term cost of financial capital. In the long term, it should lead to positive financial capital outcomes in opex savings as the price of coal-powered electricity in South Africa increases.
Through Project Zero, we support work to arrest climate change and ultimately support the natural, human and social capitals. We prioritise the reduction of Scope 3 emissions through the commitment of ~40% of our suppliers (by spend) to set their own emission-reduction targets in line with the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) by 2026.
Through targeted waste-reduction initiatives, we reduced, diverted or recycled significantly higher tonnages of e-waste in 2024.
What does financial capital mean to MTN?
Debt and equity financing, as well as cash generated and upstreamed from operations and investments. In our work to deliver value to all stakeholders, we invest in high-return operations, which fund our financial aims and in so doing deliver value for our equity shareholders and holders of our debt.
Delivering returns ahead of our cost of capital in each of our operations allows for greater investment and returns to our stakeholders. Profitable growth begets greater prospects for further investment – both from our host countries and in accessing additional funds for new investments.
The MTN Group's capital structure favours a lower proportion of debt to provide strategic decision-making headroom and to be able to execute timeously on opportunities without the constraints inherent in a higher debt-burdened business. A strong balance sheet and financial outlook are crucial to achieving much of our strategic intent.
By leveraging our intellectual and human capitals, we have successfully shifted from historically higher US dollar debt funding into more local currencies. The Group,s leverage ratio is just 0.7x after R14 billion in cash was upstreamed from operations in 2024. Debt usage allows for more flexibility in our operations to invest for growth.
In 2024, we delivered an adjusted ROE of 18.8%. While this was below our target of 25%, and negative for our financial and social capitals, we are working to exceed this target in 2025. We continue to meet our debt-reduction targets, with Holdco leverage at 1.4x at year-end and non-rand debt at 21%, approaching our target level of 20%.
Despite a challenging operating environment, adjusted EPS of 816cps was achieved. Confidence in our cash-generation capabilities in the year ahead resulted in an increase in the 2024 dividend to 345cps (versus an expected 330cps) and an increase in our 2025 dividend guidance to 370cps. This boosted social capital.
What does social capital mean to MTN?
Trusted relationships with customers, communities, governments and regulators, suppliers, trade unions, industry bodies and civil rights groups. To deliver on value‑creation ambitions, it is incumbent on MTN to nurture the relationships we have with our stakeholders.
Our interactions with governments and tax authorities to ensure we maintain our good corporate citizenship status are critical for sustaining our licence to operate and grow. MTN continues to invest in and contribute to numerous initiatives in the countries where we operate. We do this by offering world-class connectivity and fintech products to our customers; remaining tax compliant; creating jobs; and maintaining strong relationships with our investors and partners.
MTN is a material contributor to the communities in which we operate, not only by providing our services and products, but also through our CSI spend, which is focused on enabling digital transformation within these communities. We recognise that sustainable and meaningful progress depends on skills development. Through our various initiatives, we attract and develop the skills needed to bridge the digital divide, enhance our pool of potential employees and future customers, and promote greater inclusion in a global digital world.
Our commitment to digital and financial inclusion transforms society and benefits social capital through the development of skills and enterprises but has a short-term negative impact on financial capital.
Driving diversity, inclusion, localisation and preferential procurement builds the stocks of the social, human, intellectual and financial capitals.
What does social capital mean to MTN?
The motivation, skills, safety and diversity of our employees, contractors, partners and suppliers. The evolving nature of work – accelerated by AI, automation and digital transformation – is reshaping the skills landscape. Future-fit capabilities are critical for sustaining MTN's competitive advantage, yet talent scarcity in key areas threatens execution.
At MTN, we believe that our strength lies not only in our technological advancements but in the individuals who bring our purpose to life. It is our responsibility to create an environment where people feel empowered to innovate, grow and contribute to something larger than themselves. MTNers who are engaged, happy and supported in their jobs are more likely to remain, reducing staff turnover costs and retaining experienced and qualified individuals who move our business forward.
Our values of Lead with Care; Can-do with Integrity; Collaborate with Agility; Serve with Respect; and Act with Inclusion underpin how we drive our staff to create and thrive in an empowering and inclusive environment.
MTN was once again voted a top employer globally in the Forbes 2024 World,s Best Employers survey, with a rise in position to the top five among both South African companies and within global telecoms. In 2024, voluntary staff turnover declined to just 5.5% while our employee sustainable engagement score increased to 86%.
We have added value in our financial capital through a reduction in staff costs although it may be deemed as impacting value in our human capital. Our investment in education for AI and other new technologies does potentially require a trade-off of intellectual capital in other areas and a short-term reduction in financial capital. In 2025, we are expanding our growth and learning opportunities across five critical skills: data science, fintech, digital product management, emerging technologies, and AI and machine learning, while other areas currently well capacitated may not receive a commensurate level of spend. In the long term, this is expected to expand the stocks of the financial, human, intellectual and social capitals.
What does manufactured capital mean to MTN?
Our networks: 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G base stations and fibre; data centres; electronic devices and public infrastructure. Technology platforms that are second to none help us extend digital and financial inclusion but come at a cost. By building common infrastructure and sharing networks with other operators within the regulatory framework, we can avoid investment duplication, drive efficiencies and benefit customers.
Providing leading networks that are reliable, fast and consistent serves MTN,s customers and supports our ambition to lead digital solutions for Africa,s progress. In 2024, this focus resulted in an increase in MTN subscribers to 290.9 million (or +2.2%) and in active data subscribers to 157.8 million (+7.7%). Ongoing investment in our businesses is a critical part of our relationship with government stakeholders, fulfilling the conditions of our operating licences and creating shared value.
In 2024, MTN spent R53.3 billion in total capex (R29.9 billion ex-leases) of which c.73% was on our networks, or the infrastructure that constitutes our manufactured capital. While this means our financial capital and natural capital were negatively impacted, a positive outcome of this was the provision of world-class communications, enhancing the social, intellectual and human capitals as the number of people covered by our networks increased. This is evident in our consistent market-leading ratings and NPS for networks in both South Africa and Nigeria, our two largest operations.
Smartphone penetration increased to 63.9%, with the number of smartphones on our networks rising to 184.7 million from 172.1 million in 2023.
What does intellectual capital mean to MTN?
Our culture; our know-how; proprietary and licensed technology, procedures and processes. Our people form the backbone of our intellectual capital, with wide‑ranging varied expertise and skills. The guidance of our diverse and experienced Board drives our strategic ambitions and outcomes, reinforcing our position as the most admired African brand. The supply of future-fit skills is challenged in some markets. Unique and market-leading networks, technologies and research and development underpin our strategic ambitions to lead the advance of digital and financial inclusion on the African continent.
To accelerate Africa,s digital future sustainably, MTN is leveraging our leading position and valuable brand. We are known for our network quality, innovative digital and fintech technologies, supporting connectivity and greater financial inclusion on the continent in partnership with others.
Our Board plays a crucial role in oversight and guidance, working diligently to understand our operating context, opportunities and challenges, and applying their intellectual capital to deliver a cohesive strategy for the business. Setting and monitoring the execution the MTN strategy, which aligns the priorities of our stakeholders and delivers long-term value and growth, is a key responsibility of the Board. These responsibilities also incorporate engagement, where appropriate, of nation state stakeholder matters, which form a key part of our shared value priority.
The MTN Group retained the top spot in the annual ‘Brand Africa 100: Best Brands’ survey and continues to lead the list of African brands “doing good for society, people and environment” in recognition of our ESG efforts to create shared value and a sustainable business, society and world.
We continue to partner with several organisations to grow our intellectual capital. We appreciate the contributions from our partners in our fintech, connectivity and infrastructure operations across our various platforms and in the countries where we operate.
Africa's digital acceleration requires material investment in financial capital and skills (human and intellectual capitals) and ultimately should grow the stocks of each of these capitals, as well as social capital.
MTN needs to attract and retain the best individuals to our Board and management to support our ambition.
The development of new and differentiated products and services to enhance customer experience positively impacts intellectual and social capitals but reduces financial capital in the short term. In the longer term, all stocks of capital should benefit.
