Q2 2026 MTN Rwandacell PLC Earnings Call

Speaker #1: Thank you, everyone. Welcome to MTN Rwandacell PLC's results presentation for the six months ended 30 June 2026. On the call with me are Monza Ali and Jon Bugonya.

Speaker #1: Monza Ali, our CEO, will take us through the business overview and will hand over to Jon Bugonya, our CFO, who will then take us through the financial review.

Speaker #1: Jon will then hand over to Monza, who will take us through our priorities and guidance for the rest of the year. We'll then go into a Q&A session, where investors will be able to write their questions, and we will answer them in the Q&A session.

Speaker #1: Feel free to write the questions in the Questions tab. Thank you. Now, I will hand over to Monza.

Speaker #2: Thank you, Alan, and a warm welcome to all our shareholders, investors, and stakeholders joining us today across different platforms. It's a pleasure to connect with you as we review MTN Rwanda H1 2026 results, where we delivered strong execution across our connectivity, fintech, and enterprise segments.

Speaker #2: I will walk you through the business overview, and as Alan mentioned, I will then hand over to the CFO for the financial review, before returning to take you through our priorities for the rest of 2026 and our guidance.

Speaker #2: And we'll leave the floor open for your questions. Our theme remains the same: leading digital solutions for Rwanda's progress. This reflects both our commercial ambition and our broader role in supporting digital inclusion, financial inclusion, and Rwanda's continued economic development.

Speaker #2: Our focus remains clear: to remain the same, grow sustainably, deepen digital and financial inclusion, maintain network leadership, and create long-term value for all stakeholders.

Speaker #2: The first half of 2026 was a period of strong execution for MTN Rwanda. We continued to focus on the fundamentals of the business: growing our customer base, strengthening digital adoption, expanding fintech usage, maintaining network performance, and ensuring disciplined execution across the organization.

Speaker #2: Our result reflects the resilience of our business model and the relevance of our services to customers, enterprises, and communities across Rwanda. So, the key message for the first half is that MTN Rwanda delivered a pleasing result, supported by strong execution across our data, fintech, voice, and enterprise platforms.

Speaker #2: We continue to grow our customer base and deepen digital adoption, which remains central to our strategy. Customer demand for connectivity continues to be resilient, and this is visible in the growth that we see across customers, smartphones, 4G users, home broadband, and total data traffic.

Speaker #2: Fintech remains a key growth engine and an important lever for financial inclusion. The platform continues to scale in active users, merchants, transaction volume, value, and revenue.

Speaker #2: From a financial perspective, disciplined execution supported improved earnings and stronger cash generation. This is visible in service revenue growth, EBITDA growth, margin improvement, profit after tax growth, and adjusted free cash flow.

Speaker #2: As we look ahead, our focus remains on sustainable growth and long-term value creation. We are not only focused on delivering near-term results, but we are also focused on building a more efficient, more digital, and more resilient business for the future.

Speaker #2: We will turn now to macro. Rwanda's operating environment remains supportive. In terms of economic growth, although inflationary pressures have increased, GDP growth was strong at 10% in the first quarter of 2026, mainly driven by strength in the industrial and services sectors.

Speaker #2: Within the services, ICT was highlighted as one of the strongest contributors, with information and communication services growing by 22% year-on-year. For the full year, GDP growth is estimated at 6.8% in 2026, before gradually improving to an average of 7.1% over 2027 to 2029.

Speaker #2: At the same time, inflation has been on an upward trajectory. Annual average inflation is showing at 9.3%, and BNR forecasts headline inflation to average 13.9% in 2026, driven by upward pressure across core food and energy components.

Speaker #2: The central bank raised the interbank rate by 100 basis points in May 2026, signaling a tighter monitoring or monetary policy stance. On foreign exchange, the Rwanda franc has gradually stabilized against the US dollar. The monthly average Rwanda franc to the dollar depreciation rate for Q1 2026 eased to 6.4%, supported by a narrowing trade deficit, stronger exports, domestic foreign exchange market reform, and a weaker US dollar globally.

Speaker #2: So overall, the macro backdrop remains constructive for demand, but we continue to carefully manage inflation, forex exposure, and cost pressures. Moving to connectivity, the business delivered solid commercial momentum in the first half.

Speaker #2: This was underpinned by resilient underlying demand. Mobile subscribers grew from 7.8 million in H1 2025 to 8.7 million in H1 2026, representing growth of 11.4%.

Speaker #2: Active data customers increased from 2.4 million to 2.7 million, up 14.5% year-on-year, showing continued adoption of data services across all our footprints. Smartphone penetration has also improved, with smartphones growing from 3.2 million to 3.5 million, reflecting 10% smartphone growth year-on-year.

Speaker #2: 4G customers grew strongly, from 1.3 million to 1.9 million, almost a 41% increase year-on-year. This is important as customers migrate to a higher quality and higher capacity data experience.

Speaker #2: Home broadband subscribers increased from 11,000 to 13,300, reflecting growing demand for fixed connectivity solutions, with more than 20% year-on-year growth. Total data traffic increased from 72.1 petabytes to 118 petabytes, growing by 63.6% year-on-year.

Speaker #2: This demonstrates the scale of demand for digital connectivity and also reinforces the importance of continued investment in network capacity and quality. So, connectivity remains a strong growth platform, and our focus is to sustain this momentum while maintaining network leadership and customer experience.

Speaker #2: Now we'll move to fintech. Fintech continued to perform strongly in the first half, supported by the expansion of advanced services and double-digit customer growth.

Speaker #2: Momo active users increased from 5.6 million in H1 2025 to 6.4 million in H1 2026, representing a growth of 14.9% year-on-year. Transaction volume increased from 1.28 billion to 1.64 billion, up 28.5% year-on-year, showing continued growth in platform activity and daily usage.

Speaker #2: Transaction value grew from RWF 20.3 trillion to RWF 29.2 trillion, an increase of 43.9%, demonstrating the increasing relevance of mobile money in the broader payments ecosystem.

Speaker #2: Active merchants, or what we call MoMoPay, increased from 572,000 to 682,000, representing a growth of 19.2% in active merchants year-on-year. This shows continued expansion of the cashless acceptance network within our ecosystem.

Speaker #2: MomoPay customers grew from 3.4 million to 4.2 million, which is a 20.8% increase year-on-year. Mobile money revenue increased from 68.6 billion Rwanda francs to 90.1 billion Rwanda francs, growing by 31.3% year-on-year.

Speaker #2: Confirming fintech as a key driver of revenue growth and financial inclusion. Looking forward, our focus is to deepen advanced services uptake, broaden lending partnerships, broaden saving partnerships, and shift the revenue mix toward higher-value fintech services.

Speaker #2: Moving to the next slide, or turning to the regulatory developments, there are three key updates to highlight. The first update is on the mobile termination rate.

Speaker #2: The regulator has confirmed that the mobile termination rate will remain the same at 0.405 Rwanda franc per minute, effective 1 August 2026. The approved rate will remain in force for two years, from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2028, providing regulatory certainty and tariff stability for the industry.

Speaker #2: Second, on 2G and 3G sunset. The Ministry of ICT and Innovation has announced the phased retirement of legacy networks in Rwanda. All MNOs, or all operators, are required to switch off 3G services by June 30, 2027.

Speaker #2: The Ministry also confirmed that 2G retirement will follow at a later stage, subject to the successful implementation of the 3G transition and an assessment of overall market readiness.

Speaker #2: Third update, on eCash. Effective 14th of July 2026, domestic interoperable transfers between bank accounts and electronic money wallets or fintech players are processed through a unified instant payment infrastructure.

Speaker #2: With customer transaction fees capped at 20 Rwandan francs for transactions below 10 million Rwandan francs, this initiative is intended to reduce fragmentation in the financial services ecosystem, improve affordability and accessibility of digital payments, and deepen financial inclusion by enabling seamless transactions across bank and mobile money platforms.

Speaker #2: From our perspective, this development creates both operational responsibility and strategic opportunities. Our focus is to remain proactive, compliant, and constructive in our engagement with regulators and industry stakeholders.

Speaker #2: We'll move now to the shared values. Shared value remains central to how we run the business. Our message remains clear and remains simple: doing good is good business.

Speaker #2: We remain committed to driving digital and financial inclusion and supporting a diverse society. Smartphone penetration stands at 40.9%. 4G customer growth is also at 40.9%, reaching 1.9 million users from 1.3 million last year. The expansion of the mobile money merchant base to 682,000 further demonstrates the role we play in enabling digital and financial participation.

Speaker #2: On sound governance, we held our sixth annual general meeting with all resolutions passed, and we continue to maintain trust and transparency with stakeholders and partners.

Speaker #2: On economic value add, MTN Rwanda paid RWF 56.6 billion in taxes, fees, and duties. We also contributed RWF 1.1 billion to community-based health insurance, known as Mutuelle de Santé.

Speaker #2: We invested 11.2 billion Rwandan francs in capital investment to support growth and improve service equality. Through our 21 Days of Y'ello Care campaign, we upgraded the maternity ward and laboratory at Kigezi Health Center in Kamonyi district, strengthening health care for 61,000 residents and supporting 50 to 60 monthly deliveries.

Speaker #2: This initiative shows that our business impact goes beyond financial performance. We are focused on digital inclusion, economic contribution, governance, community support, and responsible long-term value creation.

Speaker #2: Before we go into the numbers, we are pleased to welcome John Bugunya as Chief Finance Officer of MTN Rwandacell PLC, effective 9th of July 2026.

Speaker #2: John brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience across finance, strategy, governance, and business transformation. He has worked across the financial services, manufacturing, and professional services sectors, and he has consistently partnered with boards and executive leadership teams to deliver sustainable growth, strengthen financial resilience, and create long-term stakeholder value.

Speaker #2: He previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Simerwa PLC and Bank of Kigali PLC, where he led finance transformation, capital market transactions, enterprise risk management, finance modernization, and operational efficiency programs.

Speaker #2: John also served as a Vice President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda, and in December 2025, he was appointed by the International Federation of Accountants Board as a member of the Professional Accountants and Business Advisory Group.

Speaker #2: We are confident that his experience and leadership will further strengthen our finance function and support our long-term value creation agenda. I will hand over to CFO John to take you through how this commercial performance translates into financial results, and then I will return to walk you through our priorities and guidance for the rest of the year.

Speaker #1: Thank you, Monza, and good afternoon to our shareholders, investors, and stakeholders joining us today. For those who have not had the pleasure of engaging with me directly, considering that this is my first results call since joining MTN Rwanda, I want to start by saying what a privilege it is to be presenting these numbers to you.

Speaker #1: I've spent the past few weeks getting under the skin of the business, and what I have found is a business with real commercial momentum, a set of numbers that reflect genuinely disciplined execution, and a business that is compounding growth on growth. That being said, I'll take you through the financial review for the six months ended 30 June 2026.

Speaker #1: The financial highlights I'll present will be in three sections. One will be on growth, I'll talk about earnings, and I'll conclude by looking at capex and cash flow.

Speaker #1: On the growth side, service revenue grew by 21.9% year on year to 167.5 billion. That growth was broad-based, with data revenue up 14.3% to 26.7 billion, driven by data traffic growth of 63.3%.

Speaker #1: And this is a reflection of the compelling and customized data packages introduced in the market, which have propelled higher usage as well as the 4G customer growth that Monza spoke about earlier, which grew by 40.9% year on year.

Speaker #1: To 1.9 million customers. The other element that is worth talking about is also the voice revenue, which grew by 7.1% to 34.1 billion. This continues the recovery trend that we've seen built over the recent quarters with the introduction of MTR that Monza spoke about earlier.

Speaker #1: And it tells you that connectivity and fintech are all pulling in the same direction. If you look at earnings—and this is where the operating leverage in this business really starts to show—EBITDA grew by 30.4% to 70.5 billion Rwandan francs.

Speaker #1: Meaningfully ahead of revenue growth that we highlighted earlier, which pushed our EBITDA margin up by 2.8 percentage points to 41.8%. That takes us up to half of our medium-term guidance of 40% to 42%.

Speaker #1: Looking at the profit after tax, which grew by 191.2% to 17.2 billion, it reflects the combination of strong top-line growth, margin expansion, and a cleaner underlying cost base, as well as finance costs compared to the comparative period Q2 2025.

Speaker #1: On the capex and cash flow, if you look at our capex excluding leases, we were flat year on year—about 0.8%, at 11.2 billion.

Speaker #1: And this growth, if you compare it with the revenue growth of over 21.5% that we spoke about earlier, explains why our capex intensity is down by 1.5 percentage points to 6.7%.

Speaker #1: I will unpack the composition of that spend in a moment, because the story isn't 'we spent less,' it's 'we spent smarter.' That discipline, combined with our earnings growth, delivered adjusted free cash flow of $59.3 billion.

Speaker #1: Up 38.7% year on year. So, in short, the three key things to take away from this are: there's broad-based revenue growth, earnings are growing faster than revenue, and the business is converting growth into cash at an accelerating rate.

Speaker #1: Looking at the expense profile and the free cash flow generation, let me give you a bit more texture on how those earnings came through.

Speaker #1: Total expenses grew 15.8% year-on-year to 98.1 billion, again as revenue—again, as service revenue growth of 21.9% that I spoke about earlier.

Speaker #1: That gap between revenue growth and expense evolution is the operating leverage I referred to a moment ago. And it's the single biggest driver of our margin expansion.

Speaker #1: If you split the cost base into two, looking at the cost of sales first—which grew by 24.7% to 36 billion Rwandan francs—that's a deliberate outcome.

Speaker #1: Not a red flag. A meaningful part of our growth is variable cost tied to the scale-up of our fintech ecosystem, our merchant network, and advanced services.

Speaker #1: We are, in effect, investing in the channel that is generating our fastest-growing revenue line. Looking at the OPEX by contrast, OPEX grew 7.7% to 62.2 billion Rwandan francs.

Speaker #1: Well below both revenue and cost of sales growth. That is the outcome of continued cost discipline, localization of costs where we can to reduce our FX exposure, and a genuinely disciplined approach to any spend that doesn't create value for the business.

Speaker #1: Put those two things together, and you get the picture on the right—the picture on the right that shows our EBITDA up 30.4% to 70.5 billion.

Speaker #1: And you'll also note that the EBITDA margin is expanding and has reached 41.8%. Because of the higher revenue growth that I spoke about earlier, our capex—essentially our capex intensity—has gone down, and our capex is essentially flat.

Speaker #1: Our adjusted free cash flow is up 38.7%, to 59.3 billion. And this is a business that is translating momentum directly into cash generation. That cash generation is the foundation of how we think about our capex and our capital allocation.

Speaker #1: And this is really looking at how we can fund our network investment, manage our balance sheet, and build capacity to deliver sustainable returns over time.

Speaker #1: The final word on where that capex actually went, total. So, capex excluding leases came in at $11.2 billion, effectively flat compared to this time last year—first half 2025—bringing capex intensity down to 6.7% from 8.2%.

Speaker #1: However, what is interesting if you look at the breakdown on the right, the composition shifted meaningfully. In first half 2025 last year, our spend weighed towards sustaining our core network capacity.

Speaker #1: Which absorbed roughly a third of our capex envelope. Compare that to the first half of 2026, and you will note that the bulk of our investment—about 47.1% of the envelope, up from 24.1%—went into our radio access network modernization.

Speaker #1: While the core network spend came down to 10%, reflecting the fact that we've already built sufficient core capacity and now prioritize the access network and platform layers that most directly improve customer experience.

Speaker #1: And unlock data and revenue growth. There's a deliberate reallocation, not a cutback. We are spending a similar envelope, but pointing it at the parts of the network that drive commercial outcomes.

Speaker #1: It's precisely this kind of capital discipline that gives us confidence in sustaining margin expansion and cash generation as the network continues to modernize through the rest of the year.

Speaker #1: That concludes the financial review. As I conclude the financial review, our capex intensity for the first half sits slightly below medium-term guidance.

Speaker #1: We expect this to normalize towards the 7% to 10% guidance in the second half of the year, as further modernization spend comes through, and Mozar will touch on that briefly on the guidance slide shortly.

Speaker #1: With that, let me hand back to Mozar to take us through our priorities for the rest of 2026 and our guidance. Mozar, over to you.

Speaker #1: Thank you.

Speaker #2: Thank you, thank you, John. Let me close by walking you through where we are taking the business from here, and then re-anchoring on guidance.

Speaker #2: For the rest of 2026, our priorities are centered on disciplined execution across connectivity, fintech, enterprise, and operational efficiency. The first priority is customer and revenue growth.

Speaker #2: We will focus on sustaining commercial momentum, growing smartphone penetration, scaling fiber and fixed wireless access, and delivering exceptional customer experience. The second priority is maintaining network leadership.

Speaker #2: We'll continue to deliver best-in-class network connectivity, operate, upgrade, and modernize sites as demand grows, and maintain value-based capital allocation, as the CFO mentioned.

Speaker #2: The third priority is driving fintech growth. We will deepen advanced services uptake, broaden lending and savings partnerships, and shift the revenue mix toward higher-value services.

Speaker #2: The fourth priority is expense efficiency. We will continue our expense efficiency program, localize costs where possible to limit foreign exchange exposure, and maintain operating leverage and cash discipline.

Speaker #2: In simple terms, our strategy for the second half is focused on: one, broadening the base; two, strengthening the network; three, scaling fintech; and four, protecting efficiency.

Speaker #2: Moving to the guidance, our medium-term guidance remains maintained with the growth and margin targets intact. Our focused commercial and strategic initiatives have positioned MTN Rwanda well to deliver on its medium-term guidance.

Speaker #2: For service revenue growth, our medium-term guidance for the years 2026 to 2028 remains mid-teens growth in percentage terms. In H1 2026, service revenue growth was 21.9%.

Speaker #2: For fintech platform growth, our guidance remains double-digit revenue growth. Performance in H1 2026 was 31.3%. For EBITDA margin, the medium-term guidance remains 40 to 42%. H1 2026 performance was at 41.8%, which is within the guided range.

Speaker #2: For capex intensity, the medium-term guidance remains at 7% to 10%. H1 2026 performance was at 6.7%, with the slight noting that capex intensity is expected to align with medium-term guidance in H2 2026.

Speaker #2: The business remains well positioned. Our focus is to continue executing with discipline, manage cost and capital carefully, deepen fintech and digital adoption, and create sustainable long-term value.

Speaker #2: In closing, MTN Rwanda delivered a strong first half, with robust service revenue growth of 21.9%, EBITDA growth of 30.4%, and continued momentum across our connectivity and fintech platforms.

Speaker #2: We remain focused on disciplined execution, sustainable growth, and long-term value creation. Based on our performance and outlook, we remain confident in our ability to deliver against our medium-term guidance and strategic ambition.

Speaker #2: Thank you. Now I will hand over to Allen to take us through the Q&A.

Speaker #1: Thank you, Monza. Let's go into the Q&A session. Feel free to write your questions on the question staff. First question: Congrats on the results.

Speaker #1: Will we receive a dividend for Q3 or the full year 2026, and why is the board not declaring any dividends? I'll hand this over to John.

Speaker #1: Our CFO.

Speaker #3: Thank you very much for that question. And I think, in responding to that, what I would need to do is draw your attention to two particular aspects.

Speaker #3: One is the board's approach, which has remained prudent, consistent with the position communicated at the June 2026 Annual General Meeting of the shareholders. And I think, in that, the discussion around dividend distribution, the board clearly highlighted that the priority remained strengthening the company's balance sheet.

Speaker #3: Working capital requirements, the equity rebuild as well as gearing alongside disciplined, smart capex. And I think, looking at the first half 2026 performance, as we've disclosed, profit after tax is up to 17.2 billion, adjusted free cash flow is up 38.7% to 59 billion, which is strong.

Speaker #3: Financial results would be an encouraging input into the board's ongoing review of capital allocation and dividend capacity for FY26. But as we speak, to date, no decision has been taken.

Speaker #3: And certainly, in the event that the decision is made, we will be able to communicate that to the market, you know, following the review of our full-year performance.

Speaker #3: Thank you very much, Alan.

Speaker #1: Thank you, John. The next question: how many 3G and 2G subscribers do you have on your network at the moment, and what contribution or revenue comes from 3G and 2G subscribers?

Speaker #1: At Monza.

Speaker #2: Thank you, Trishendran from 361, for the question. As disclosed in our H1 2026 results, MTN Rwanda had 8.7 million customers at the end of June 2026.

Speaker #2: We also disclosed that our 4G customer base grew to 1.9 million by the end of June 2026, representing a growth of 40.9% year on year.

Speaker #2: Based on those published figures, the remainder of our customer base remains on legacy access technology—2G and 3G. What we can say is that we continue to see healthy migration to 4G, supported by increasing smartphone penetration and 63.6% growth in data traffic, which is the key driver for the data and digital businesses.

Speaker #2: In terms of revenue contribution—the second part of the question—we do not disclose revenue segmentation by network technology, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G.

Speaker #2: Our external reporting is structured around service categories, including voice, data, and fintech. What we can share is that the underlying trend for overall data revenue remains very positive.

Speaker #2: Data revenue grew 14.3% year on year, driven mainly by a 63.6% year-on-year increase in data traffic. This reflects the increasing adoption of smartphones and higher-speed data services across our customer base.

Speaker #2: Thank you.

Speaker #1: Thank you. Next question: Do you expect the implementation of e-cash to have an impact on revenues? And if so, what percentage impact do you estimate?

Speaker #1: Hand over to Monza.

Speaker #2: Thank you, NKM, for the question. At this stage, it's too early for us to quantify a specific revenue impact from e-cash, which went live on the 14th of July 2026.

Speaker #2: As we highlighted in our results, e-cash was rolled out nationally and provides a common interoperability infrastructure across banks and mobile money providers. We believe the broader benefits of increased affordability, convenience, and ecosystem connectivity will stimulate transaction volume and support digital payment adoption over time.

Speaker #1: Thank you. Next question: What is the outlook for dividends, particularly in light of the current performance? I believe this has been answered by the CFO.

Speaker #1: So the next question would be, regarding the government's 4G directive and the planned 3G switch-off, do you anticipate any major capex requirements?

Speaker #2: Thank you for the question. At this stage, we don't anticipate any material step change in our capital expenditure requirement as a result of the government's 4G migration agenda or the 3G switch-off.

Speaker #2: Over the past couple of years, we have been consistently investing in network modernization, 4G expansion, and even 5G. We were the first to launch 5G commercially, a few weeks ago.

Speaker #2: We went live with VoLTE as well, which positioned us well to support ongoing customer migration from 2G and 3G to 4G. As customers migrate from legacy technology, we also expect to realize further network efficiency through spectrum refarming and optimization of existing infrastructure.

Speaker #2: This allows us to accommodate growing traffic demand more efficiently without requiring a significant increase in investment. So, based on the current planning assumptions that we have, we expect any required investment to remain within our normal capital allocation framework and remain broadly consistent with our medium-term capex intensity guidance of 7 to 10%, as we communicated in our results.

Speaker #2: Thank you.

Speaker #1: Thank you, Monza. The next question: Congratulations on an excellent past half, and welcome, John. Can you talk about the tax rate? It was extremely high last year, and although it was only 36% in the first half, it remains very high.

Speaker #1: Why is this, and what can you do to bring this down?

Speaker #3: Thank you very much, Johan, for the question. Indeed, our effective tax rate is 36%, and again, if you compare that with the statutory rate of 28%, you know it is above the standard statutory rate.

Speaker #3: And I think, in explaining or giving a response to your question, the primary driver remains, obviously, the ad bucks—the ad bucks as you compute your taxable baseline.

Speaker #3: and the big items in here, Johan, are the 2% of revenue cap deductibility of imported, and related party service costs. So what what that means is that it limits, allowable deductions in respect in res in respective of profit growth, pushing the effective tax rate, well above the statutory, levels.

Speaker #3: Now, as you've highlighted, the rate has come down from the first half of last year, where it was 42%, to 36% in the first half of 2026. This is as a result of a couple of actions that management is taking. One is that we are progressing in our efforts to localize and insource services that fall outside the cap, and to refine the related party cost and transfer pricing model to reduce disallowables over time.

Speaker #3: And those actions, as I've highlighted earlier, have translated into a decline to 36%. Obviously, this continues to be an action that we are working on, in an effort to try and improve our effective tax rate.

Speaker #3: Thank you, Johan.

Speaker #1: Thank you, John. The next question: Top-line growth has consistently been strong, but the issue has been conversion to the bottom line, particularly as interest, lease, and tax charges absorb a significant share of operating profit.

Speaker #1: Right-of-use asset additions in H1 2026 were more than double the entire earlier 2025 figure, including a $15.6 billion lease modification. Is owned capex being substituted with leased capacity?

Speaker #1: Towers, fiber, or IRUs? And how does management assess the resulting impact on underlying profitability and cash generation? What initiatives are underway to improve bottom-line conversion and lift return on assets and return on equity?

Speaker #1: And over what time frame should investors expect these returns to improve? John?

Speaker #3: So, thank you very much for the questions. I think the question is loaded with particular points around earnings, around growth, but also, you know, the efficiency of the business.

Speaker #3: So I will, I will try to give some context. I think looking at the earnings, we've seen very growth top line on the, you know, in terms of revenue, and that has been highlighted.

Speaker #3: With the 21% increase year on year in our service revenue to 167 billion, what is also important to highlight is on the earnings side.

Speaker #3: And if you look at the earnings side, in terms of our EBITDA—our earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization—that has grown by 30.4%.

Speaker #3: So, the growth in our EBITDA is higher than the growth in our top line, and that really speaks to the operating leverage or the efficiency that has been built across the business to ensure that we're able to retain as much of the top line within the business, and that translates into the bottom line.

Speaker #3: And if you look at the bottom line, you'll also see that our profit after tax has grown by 191% year-on-year to 17.2 billion.

Speaker #3: Now, just like I highlighted earlier, you know, strong top line growth, margin expansion, and, you know, a a clean underlying cost base as well as finance cost line that we've managed, to to, you know, contain.

Speaker #3: During the period. So the message I'm trying to put forward is that, you know, if you compare the first half of 2026 to the first half of 2025, there's been clearly, you know, an improvement in the cost base in terms of how that is managed.

Speaker #3: So that we're able to realize the benefits that are coming through from the, you know, the expanding, top line growth. Now, if made reference to some of the restatements that happened last year, and I think what we would like to highlight is, again, some of those, you know, they they were learnings and lessons that were taken from those, from those rest restatements with putting place the necessary processes and controls and, you know, we expect that the second half of the year will, be, you know, will the trend that we've posted in the first half of the year will continue to, you know, to reflect, in the second half of the year, and hopefully that will also reflect within the numbers that we'll be able to to present.

Speaker #3: Thank you, Alan.

Speaker #1: Thank you, John. Next question—congrats on the strong results. Could you give us some color on where the subscriber growth is coming from?

Speaker #1: Are these new users entering the market market-share gains, or something else? Second question to that is on data—you had 15% growth in active data subscribers.

Speaker #1: With strong traffic and 4G connections, but revenues lagged a bit. Can you comment on the pricing environment and whether the gap is mainly driven by lower effective data pricing, larger bundles, or is it a mix?

Speaker #4: Thank you, Tarek Karam from 337, from Tier Capital. There are two questions, I think—there's two questions in one. The first question is on the subscriber growth source.

Speaker #4: We are pleased with the subscriber momentum we continue to see across the business. Our customer base increased by 11.4% year on year to 8.7 million customers from 7.8 million last year.

Speaker #4: We believe this growth is being driven by a combination of factors rather than any single source. First, Rwanda continues to benefit from ongoing digital adoption and increasing connectivity demand. Second, our investment in network quality, our investment in customer experience, and targeted commercial propositions continue to support customer acquisition and retention.

Speaker #4: And the third, the strong growth in our fintech ecosystem and digital services helps us attract and retain customers across multiple use cases, creating a more compelling value proposition for the customer.

Speaker #4: We are also encouraged by the broad-based growth we are seeing across subscribers, active data users, and active MoMo users, which grew by 14.5% and 14.9%, respectively.

Speaker #4: On the second part of your question—data growth versus revenue growth—our active data customers increased by 14.5%. Our 4G base increased by 40.9%, from 1.3 million to 1.9 million.

Speaker #4: And data traffic grew by a very strong 63.6% year-on-year, and data revenue grew by 14.3%. The difference between traffic growth and revenue growth is not unique to Rwanda or MTN Rwanda.

Speaker #4: And reflect the natural evolution of the mobile data market that has a smartphone penetration of around 40%, 41%. As customers migrate to smartphones and consume more data, we typically try to encourage adoption through larger bundles.

Speaker #4: A more attractive proposition and customer value management initiative to give some incentive to the user to convert to a high-speed network like 4G or 5G.

Speaker #4: So, I will not characterize the environment as one of aggressive pricing pressure. Rather, we continue to focus on expanding usage, accelerating digital inclusion, and driving adoption through compelling and customized packages.

Speaker #4: From our perspective, what's most important is that we continue to see healthy growth across key drivers of the data business. Active data users are growing, 4G adoption is growing, and traffic consumption is growing. This trend positions us well for sustained long-term growth in the data segment.

Speaker #4: Thank you.

Speaker #1: Thank you. Next question. Data traffic surged 63.6%, while revenue went up 14.3%. This illustrates a widening gap between volume and monetization. Is this the result of forced competitive pricing, or a deliberate strategy?

Speaker #1: Leave Ramon's touch from this. As to answer this question, the next question is from Kevin: Early thoughts on eCash—does the 20 franc cap cover your cost to serve on the transactions, or is this structurally dilutive to fintech margins?

Speaker #4: Thank you, Kevin. It's still very early days following the implementation of eCash, so I will be cautious about drawing conclusions on the long-term margin implication.

Speaker #4: As we highlighted in our results, while the regulated tariff structure may moderate revenue per interoperable transaction in certain use cases, we believe the broader opportunity lies in expanding the overall digital payment ecosystem and increasing transaction activity.

Speaker #4: Thank you.

Speaker #1: Thank you. I believe there are no further questions. I will now hand over to Monza to give closing remarks. Thank you.

Speaker #4: Thank you, Alan. Thank you for the insightful question and for the constructive discussion this afternoon. As we conclude today's session, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our shareholders, investors, analysts, board chair, board members, regulators, partners, and all stakeholders.

Speaker #4: Thank you for your continued trust and support of MTN Rwanda. The first half of 2026 has been another period of strong execution for the business.

Speaker #4: We delivered pleasing results across our connectivity and fintech platform, strengthened profitability, improved cash generation, and continued to invest in the network and digital infrastructure that will support Rwanda's future growth.

Speaker #4: This achievement reflects the dedication of our employees, the loyalty of our customers, and the strength of our partnerships across the ecosystem. While we remain mindful of the evolving macroeconomic environment, we are encouraged by the resilience of demand.

Speaker #4: The continued digital transformation taking place across Rwanda, and the opportunities that lie ahead for both the telecom and fintech platform. We believe MTN Rwanda is well positioned to capture this opportunity through disciplined execution, customer-centric innovation, and prudent capital allocation.

Speaker #4: Our focus remains clear. Our focus remains unchanged: maintain network leadership, accelerate digital and financial inclusion, drive operational efficiency, and create sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders.