Airtel Africa processes over $102bn mobile money transactions
By Ibiyemi Mathew
The company revealed this in her results for the year ended 31 March 2023. The value of the transactions according to the telecom giant was calculated using constant currency which helps to shed light on the actual performance of a company, devoid of the unpredictability of foreign exchange mechanisms.
Revenue in constant currency grew by 17.6 per cent, with revenues growing by 11.5 per cent to $5,255m in reported currency for the group.
The telecoms giant also noted that mobile service revenue grew by 16.2 per cent in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 11.8 per cent and data revenue growth of 23.8 per cent. Mobile money revenue grew by 29.6 per cent in constant currency according to the statement issued by the group.
Chief Executive Officer, Olusegun Ogunsanya, commenting on the results said, “Over the last year, the operating environment has been challenging in many ways, yet our strategic focus on providing reliable, affordable and accessible services across our markets has enabled us to sustain our top-line growth momentum.
“The resilience of our underlying EBITDA margins has shown the effectiveness of our operating model, despite significant inflationary and foreign exchange pressures. Strong customer and ARPU growth over the year demonstrates that demand for our services remains very strong and gives us the confidence to continue investing to support our future growth potential.”
“Over the year, we invested $500m on additional spectrum, including 5G, across many of our OpCos which, combined with our capex, will underpin our growth ambitions.”
“Our six-pillar strategy continues to provide the basis for stakeholder value creation by facilitating continued expansion of our services to enhance both digital and financial inclusion across Africa. This strategy will continue and will be underpinned by our sustainability strategy as articulated in our Sustainability Report published in October 2022.” he said.
Speaking on how the group plans to tackle devaluation of currenc, Ogunsanya noted that while currency devaluation is not in their control, he revealed that the group has plans to continue to mitigate its impact by growing its revenues at a faster pace than devaluation, with double-digit revenue growth in reported currency delivered this year and as we continue to reduce our foreign currency exposure across our balance sheet.
The newly appointed CEO for Airtel Nigeria, Carl Cruz, said, “The results of the year ended March 2023, place Airtel Africa in an optimistic footing and Nigeria, being one of the most vibrant countries in the Group’s operations, is in a vantage position to capitalise on 5G technology, an energetic subscriber base, and the growing adoption of mobile money services, while we continue to promote the Group’s sustainability commitments.”
