MTN Group plans to spin off its financial technology operations in three key markets during the first half of this year as part of a reorganisation that will allow Mastercard to buy a minority stake in the high-growth units.
The African telecoms giant must separate fintech (mobile money) units in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda as part of a process to complete a deal it struck in 2023 with Mastercard, Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita told Bloomberg on Monday.
The processes are more advanced in Uganda and Ghana, while Nigeria has “a bit more complexity with some more regulatory processes to work through,” Mupita said.
MTN is also open to network sharing deals, in line with the trend seen in European markets, the CEO said.
The group, which is Africa’s largest carrier by sales, declared a dividend of R3.45 (0.19 cents) a share for 2024, beating the R3.35 average analyst estimate complied by Bloomberg. It also plans to pay a higher dividend of at least 3.70 rand a share for the current financial year, it said in a statement on Monday.
Shares rose as much as 3.4% in early Johannesburg trading.
The company posted a loss of R9.59 billion for 2024, higher than the estimated loss of R3.87 billion.
