By Abigail Mbah
MTN Nigeria has begun disbursing a ₦545.9 billion interim dividend to its shareholders, one of the largest payouts by a listed Nigerian company in recent years.
The telecoms giant is paying ₦26 per share for the first half of 2026. The distribution follows a sharp rise in profitability, with profit after tax climbing 70.6% to ₦707.5 billion. Service revenue for the period reached nearly ₦3 trillion, supported by strong growth in data services.
Shareholders will not receive the full headline amount. A standard 10% withholding tax applies, which means the Nigerian government will collect roughly ₦54.6 billion from the total payout. That tax take is more than 15 times the ₦3.58 billion that a large block of 336,608 shareholders is collectively entitled to before tax.
MTN Group, which holds a majority stake of around 73% through MTN International (Mauritius) Limited, stands to receive the biggest portion of the dividend at approximately ₦401 billion. The remaining amount will be shared among other institutional and retail investors. MTN Nigeria has about 21 billion shares outstanding, and the payment is going to shareholders who were on the register as of the August 20 qualification date.
The company declared the interim dividend at the end of July after reporting free cash flow of ₦712.7 billion for the half-year, up nearly 74%. Capital expenditure remained elevated as MTN continued investing in its network, including 5G expansion, while still generating enough cash to reward shareholders.
The payout began on September 7. Net of tax, individual shareholders are receiving ₦23.40 per share. The move marks another step in MTN Nigeria’s recovery after earlier periods of weaker earnings and balance-sheet pressure. Equity has strengthened significantly, and the company has returned to consistent dividend payments following the restoration of positive retained earnings.