Zimbabwe-born business executive Ralph Mupita received R99.3 million in total remuneration in 2025, a 53.4% increase from the previous year, as MTN Group returned to profitability following a R10.9 billion loss.

The payout to the chief executive of the Johannesburg-listed telecommunications group came in a year when MTN reported group profit after tax of R27.4 billion, reversing a restated loss of R10.9 billion in 2024.

According to MTN's FY2025 remuneration report, Mupita's total remuneration rose to R99.313 million from R64.751 million in 2024.

The package comprised R21.405 million in earnings, including benefits, R29.537 million in short-term incentives and R48.371 million in long-term incentives that vested during the year.

Long-term incentives accounted for almost half the total package, reflecting the value of share awards that vested as MTN's share price increased. The company said its share price rose from R124.60 during the 2024 vesting period to R202.20 during the 2025 vesting period.

MTN attributed the higher executive remuneration primarily to the vesting of long-term incentives, the improved share price and stronger group performance, which also supported short-term incentive payouts.

The distinction is important: the R99.3 million represents total remuneration, including share-based awards, rather than Mupita's basic annual salary.

The increased payout coincided with a significant improvement in MTN's financial results.

The group's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, show revenue rising to R226.707 billion from R188.001 billion in 2024.

Profit after tax reached R27.401 billion, compared with a restated loss of R10.914 billion in the previous year. Of the 2025 profit, R20.262 billion was attributable to MTN shareholders.

The recovery reflected stronger operating performance, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana, alongside improved macroeconomic conditions and a substantial reduction in foreign-exchange losses.

MTN's reported net foreign-exchange position moved from a loss of R18.879 billion in 2024 to a gain of R313 million in 2025, illustrating the extent to which currency movements had affected the previous year's results.

The group also benefited from stronger earnings in its connectivity and financial technology businesses, as demand for mobile data and digital financial services continued to expand.

MTN ended 2025 with 307.2 million customers, a 5.6% increase from the previous year, according to its results announcement. Active data customers rose to 172.6 million, while monthly active Mobile Money customers reached 69.5 million.

For Zimbabwe, the financial results bring renewed attention to a businessman whose career has taken him from the country's eastern region to the top of one of Africa's largest telecommunications groups.

Mupita was born in Goromonzi and grew up in Mutare, according to published biographical accounts. The University of Cape Town, where he studied, has also identified him as a Zimbabwean alumnus.

An engineer by training, he holds a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in civil engineering and an MBA from the University of Cape Town. He also completed the General Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

His career subsequently moved into financial services. Before joining MTN, he served as chief executive of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, overseeing operations across 19 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

He joined MTN as group chief financial officer in April 2017 and was appointed group president and chief executive in September 2020.

Since taking the position, Mupita has overseen a business operating across multiple African and Middle Eastern markets, with growing exposure to mobile financial services, digital infrastructure and data connectivity.

The group's investment plans reflect that shift.

In February 2026, during a visit to Ghana, Mupita announced that MTN planned to invest US$1.1 billion in the country's operations over three years to strengthen infrastructure and improve service delivery.

MTN Ghana said the planned investment would accelerate capital expenditure, following approximately US$1 billion invested over the preceding five years.

The announcement underscores the scale of capital required to expand telecommunications networks as African markets experience rising demand for broadband, mobile data and digital financial services.

For MTN, the 2025 results represent a marked recovery in reported earnings, although the comparison with 2024 also highlights the impact of currency movements on the group's financial performance.

For Mupita, that recovery coincided with a substantially larger remuneration package, driven in significant part by share-based incentives.

And for Zimbabwe, it places a Goromonzi-born executive at the centre of a multinational business serving more than 300 million customers and committing billions of dollars to Africa's digital infrastructure.