Airtel Africa records 31% revenue growth, as customers hit 189m

…posts 50.1% revenue growth in Nigerian market

By Firdaus Jibril

Airtel Africa has reported a strong start to its 2026/27 financial year, posting a 31 per cent increase in revenue to $1.85 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, driven by growth in its customer base, rising data consumption and continued expansion of its mobile money business.

The telecommunications company said its total customer base grew by 11.6 per cent to 189 million during the period, while data customers increased by 15.5 per cent to 87.3 million.

The company also recorded a sharp rise in smartphone usage, with smartphone penetration increasing to 51 per cent from 45.8 per cent a year earlier. Monthly data usage per customer rose from 7.8 gigabytes to 10.6 gigabytes, leading to a 56.3 per cent increase in data traffic across its network.

Airtel Africa’s mobile money business also maintained strong momentum. The company said its Airtel Money customer base grew by 23.3 per cent to 56.5 million, while annualised total processed value on the platform increased by 51.5 per cent to more than $245 billion.

Revenue from mobile money rose by 38.9 per cent in reported currency to $404 million, supported by increased customer adoption and wider use of digital financial services.

Profit after tax increased by 27 per cent to $198 million from $156 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, while earnings per share improved to 4.4 cents from 3.4 cents.

Operating profit rose by 40.7 per cent to $627 million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 36.6 per cent to $928 million, lifting the EBITDA margin to 50.1 per cent.

Despite the improved earnings, the company said profit was partly affected by a $37 million exceptional finance cost arising from an in-principle settlement of a commercial dispute involving one of its subsidiaries, as well as foreign exchange and derivative losses.

To strengthen network quality and prepare for future demand, Airtel Africa significantly increased capital expenditure during the quarter. Capital spending rose to $389 million from $121 million in the same period last year.

The company added more than 920 network sites during the quarter, its highest first-quarter rollout, while expanding its fibre network to more than 82,100 kilometres.

In Nigeria, Airtel recorded one of its strongest performances across the Group. Revenue increased by 50.4 per cent in reported currency to $501 million, while constant currency revenue grew by 29.8 per cent, reflecting the full impact of tariff adjustments introduced in late 2025.

Nigeria’s customer base increased by 12 per cent to 60.1 million, while data revenue rose by 59.9 per cent in reported currency. EBITDA from the Nigerian business climbed 58.4 per cent to $293 million, with the EBITDA margin improving to 58.6 per cent.

The company also disclosed that Airtel Nigeria received approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission in April to renew its 900MHz spectrum licence for ten years at a cost of $37 million.

Commenting on the results, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Taldar, said the company delivered another strong quarterly performance as its focus on customer experience continued to drive growth across all business segments.

He said increased investment in network infrastructure, growing smartphone adoption and wider use of digital services had accelerated data traffic and supported long-term growth.

Taldar also said Airtel Money continued to deepen financial inclusion across the company’s markets and confirmed that London had been selected as the preferred venue for the planned listing of the mobile money business, subject to regulatory approvals.

According to him, although higher global energy prices are expected to increase inflationary pressure on operating costs in the near term, the company will continue to pursue cost-efficiency measures while investing ahead of demand to support Africa’s ongoing digital transformation.

As part of its capital allocation strategy, Airtel Africa said it had repurchased about 10.2 million shares worth $46.6 million under its ongoing share buyback programme approved by the board.