Airtel Africa has reported a nine-month profit of $586 million, more than double the $248 million recorded in the corresponding period last year, driven by strong demand for mobile data and financial services across its African operations.
The telecoms group, which operates in 14 African countries, said improved foreign exchange and derivative performance also boosted earnings, with a $252 million swing from a $153 million loss last year to a $99 million gain in the current period.
Revenue rose to $4.67 billion, representing a 24.6 per cent increase in constant currency and a 28.3 per cent rise in reported currency, supported by currency appreciation and strong underlying operational performance.
Revenue growth accelerated in the third quarter, with constant-currency revenue increasing by 24.7 per cent and reported revenue rising by 32.9 per cent.
Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Sunil Taldar, said the results reflected the strength of the company’s strategy, noting sustained operating and financial momentum across the business.
He said the company had increased investment during the quarter to improve network coverage, expand data capacity, and extend its fibre infrastructure.
Mobile services revenue grew by 23.3 per cent in constant currency, driven largely by rising data usage. Data revenue, which remains the group’s largest contributor, climbed 36.5 per cent, while voice revenue increased by 13.5 per cent.
Mobile money revenue also recorded strong growth, rising 29.4 per cent in constant currency.
Taldar said the company was deepening its focus on digitisation and technology innovation, including the integration of artificial intelligence into its operations to improve customer experience.
He added that closer integration of GSM services with Airtel Money and the expansion of digital offerings were helping the group meet growing customer demand.
The company’s customer base increased by 10 per cent to 179.4 million, supported by increased network investment and a customer-focused strategy. Data customers rose 14.6 per cent to 81.8 million, while smartphone penetration improved to 48.1 per cent, up by 3.9 percentage points.
Average data consumption per customer rose to 8.6 gigabytes per month, compared to 6.9GB in the previous period, contributing to a 16.6 per cent increase in data average revenue per user in constant currency.
Airtel Africa’s mobile money business also recorded key milestones, with subscriber numbers rising 17.3 per cent to 52 million. Annualised total processed value exceeded $210 billion in the third quarter, representing a 36 per cent increase.
The company said it would continue to invest in network expansion, digitisation, and strategic partnerships to sustain growth across its African markets, as demand for data services and digital financial solutions continues to rise.
