MTN Group used its Q3 update to highlight ongoing efforts to complete a number of deals, with the company expecting to be out of Afghanistan by the end of the year and targeting rapid progress towards finalising a fintech investment from Mastercard.

The operator cited completing the Mastercard investment as a focus for the current quarter. It also expects to finally exit Afghanistan in the next two months, with that process currently with regulators.   

MTN added it remains in discussions over the “potential orderly exit of three of our smaller operations in West Africa”, with its units in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry and Liberia on the block.

CEO Ralph Mupita pointed to signs inflation was easing across several of its markets during Q3, including in South Africa, Ghana and Uganda.

However, he noted foreign exchange rates remained volatile, especially in Nigeria where “naira devaluation had a material impact”.

In its home market of South Africa, Mupita said there had been continued issues with power outages, though reported “significant progress” in a network resilience programme designed to mitigate this.

MTN does not provide net profit figures for Q3, but booked revenue including the impact of hyperinflation of ZAR50.9 billon ($2.8 billion), down from ZAR53.5 billion in Q3 2022.