…As revenue increases 20.4% in nine months
By Seun Ibiyemi
Airtel Africa Plc has announced the launch of its second $100 million share buyback programme, reinforcing its financial strength and commitment to shareholder returns.
This comes after the successful completion of its initial $100 million buyback in December 2024.
The telecom giant reported strong operational performance despite currency devaluation challenges.
Revenue for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2024, grew by 20.4 percent in constant currency to $3.64 billion, driven by a 29.6 percent surge in mobile money revenue and a 29.5 percent increase in data services.
However, reported revenue declined by 5.8 percent due to foreign exchange fluctuations.
Airtel Africa’s customer base expanded by 7.9 percent to 163.1 million, while mobile money subscribers grew 18.3 percent to 44.3 million.
According to Airtel report, data usage per customer surged by 32.3 per cent, reflecting the increasing demand for digital services across its markets.
Despite a 11.9 per cent decline in reported EBITDA to $1.68 billion, the company improved its EBITDA margin to 46.9 percent in Q3’25, up from 45.3 percent earlier in the year, reflecting ongoing cost efficiency measures.
Commenting, Airtel Africa’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sunil Taldar said, “We have delivered an improvement in both the operating and financial performance in the last quarter driven by our refined strategy.
“Our focus on speed and quality execution is enabling us to unlock the substantial opportunities for growth across our markets and business segments, where demand remains significant.
“The scale of data traffic growth across our markets had an increase of 49 per cent over the last year, is a testament to the investments we have made and the relentless focus on our strategy to create value for all our stakeholders.
“We continue to focus on further margin improvement. Furthermore, our capital structure remains robust with just 8 percent of OpCo debt in foreign currency, a substantial improvement over the last year,” Taldar said.
He noted that continued confidence in the outlook for the business, had enabled the board to announce a second share buyback programme, which will return up to $100 million to shareholders.
“The recent signs of currency stabilisation in some markets and the recent decision from the Nigerian Communications Commission regarding tariff adjustments in Nigeria are encouraging and signals a more stable operating environment.
“While challenges remain, these developments provide a firm foundation for growth and improved market conditions,” Taldar said.