Uganda’s two largest telecom operators, MTN and Airtel, have stepped up shareholder payouts this year, issuing multiple interim dividends that point to strong cash generation and rising confidence in their earnings outlook.

Interim dividends are not new for either company, but the scale and frequency of this year’s payouts represent a sharper public signal of confidence — in a market where dividend payments have become increasingly rare.

MTN Uganda has been the more aggressive of the two, declaring two sizeable interim dividends for 2025. The first, a Ush10 ($0.0028) per share announced in August, followed a solid half-year performance anchored in the company’s fast-growing data and fintech businesses.

Its second interim dividend, declared in early November at Ush10.5 ($0.0029) per share, is its largest interim distribution to date. Analysts say the twin payouts reflect a strategic choice by MTN to reward shareholders earlier in the year, before audited results, because the company has sufficient visibility over its full-year earnings trajectory.

MTN Uganda’s profits for the nine months jumped 2.6 percent to Ush471 billion ($130 million), largely driven by fintech and data revenue, which grew 17 percent and 30 percent to Ush762 billion ($210 million) and Ush809 billion ($223 million) respectively.

For a listed subsidiary operating in a small but increasingly sophisticated market such as the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), the signals are as important as the cash itself, analysts argue.

Airtel Uganda has declared three interim dividends this year: Ush1.85 ($0.00051) per share in the first quarter, and Ush2.5 ($0.00069) per share in June, and another Ush3.25 ($0.0009).

While smaller in absolute terms compared with MTN’s, the payouts represent an uptick from last year and suggest the company is consciously using its dividend programme to deepen investor trust after establishing its public market credentials.

Although it is yet to publicly disclose its Q3 earnings, Airtel’s results for the six months to June showed strong growth in both revenues and net earnings, which rose 29 percent to Ush197 billion ($54.3 million).

Airtel’s capital structure, characterised by a larger share count, naturally moderates the per-share amount, but the consistency of payments indicates steady operational performance and stable cashflows.“Both companies had committed to a dividend growth at their respective IPOs, the market is happy to see this come to pass,” said Calvin Bateme, a researcher at Kampala-based stockbroker Crested Capital.

The two firms dominate Uganda’s telecom landscape, jointly controlling the bulk of mobile subscriptions, data traffic, and mobile money users. Their dividends often act as bellwethers for the wider market, especially because they are among the few listed companies with the scale, liquidity, and recurring revenues necessary to deliver predictable distributions.

In a market where trading volumes are low and price discovery is slow, dividends remain the most tangible form of investor return. As a result, telcos’ payout decisions tend to carry more weight than in more liquid markets.

Market watchers view the higher frequency of interim dividends this year as a sign that the telecom sector remains resilient despite macroeconomic pressures.

Consumer demand for data has continued to grow, supported by a shift toward digital services, remote work habits, and the proliferation of mobile-first platforms.

Mobile money—though operating under regulations that separate financial services from telecoms—continues to provide an indirect earnings lift through adjacent fees, distribution, and broader ecosystem effects.

Both MTN and Airtel have intensified their investment in network capacity, data centres, and digital financial services, helping reinforce their long-term cash generation potential.

But the upward trend in dividends also raises questions about capital allocation. Uganda’s increasingly heavy data usage, coupled with the race toward 5G adoption, means operators will need to sustain robust investment levels.

The telcos’ decisions to pay multiple interims suggest they are comfortable that their capital expenditure programmes remain adequately funded.

For investors, the story is largely positive: stronger and more frequent dividends mean clearer visibility on returns and improved certainty in a market where such guarantees are rare.

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