Airtel Africa Reports $376m Half-Year Profit

Airtel Africa Plc has reported a remarkable profit surge for the half year ended September 30, 2025, with profit after tax rising to $376 million, a 375% increase compared to the previous year.

The telecom and fintech giant attributed the strong performance to higher data consumption, expanding mobile money operations, and improved currency trends across its 14 operating markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite persistent macroeconomic pressures in Nigeria and parts of Francophone Africa, the company delivered broad-based growth in revenue, earnings, and margins, reflecting the resilience of its diversified business model.

Financial Performance

According to Airtel Africa’s financial results, group revenue grew 25.8% to $2.98 billion, while EBITDA increased 33.2% to $1.45 billion, pushing the EBITDA margin to 48.5% from 45.8% a year earlier.
Operating profit climbed 35.9% to $959 million, while profit before tax jumped 269% to $656 million.
Earnings per share rose sharply to 8.3 cents, compared with 0.8 cents in the prior period.

The company declared an interim dividend of 2.84 cents per share, representing a 9.2% increase.

Airtel said the profit surge was driven by currency appreciation, particularly in the Nigerian naira and CFA franc, alongside higher data and fintech revenues and reduced finance costs after last year’s significant FX losses.

Data Now Airtel’s Biggest Revenue Stream

For the first time, data revenue surpassed voice, becoming Airtel Africa’s largest income source.
Data revenue climbed 37% in constant currency to $1.16 billion, buoyed by an 18.4% rise in active data users to 78.1 million and smartphone penetration reaching 46.8%.

Average data usage rose to 8.2GB per user per month, signaling growing digital adoption across African markets.
Voice revenue also grew by 13.2%, supported by an 11% increase in subscribers to 173.8 million.

Fintech Operations Strengthen Profitability

Airtel’s fintech arm, Airtel Money, sustained its momentum, recording $623 million in revenue — a 30.2% increase in constant currency. The platform’s customer base expanded 20% to 49.8 million, while annualised transaction volume rose to $193 billion, up 35.9% year-on-year.

The fintech business contributed 21% of total group revenue, underscoring Airtel’s continued shift from traditional voice services to digital financial solutions.
The company reaffirmed that plans for the Airtel Money IPO remain on course for the first half of 2026.

Regional Highlights

• Nigeria: Revenue rose 49% in constant currency to $697 million, driven by 62% growth in data and an EBITDA margin improvement to 56%.
• East Africa: Revenue reached $1.05 billion, up 15.6%, with EBITDA margin at 48%.
• Francophone Africa: Revenue climbed 14.5% to $749 million, supported by an EBITDA margin of 39.5%.

Airtel credited the growth to tariff adjustments, network expansion, and currency appreciation in East and Francophone regions.

Operational Efficiency and Network Investment

Finance costs fell to $304 million from $528 million, following the absence of FX losses recorded last year.
The group maintained a stronger balance sheet, with 95% of operating company debt now in local currency, reducing foreign exchange exposure.
Leverage improved to 2.1x, while lease-adjusted leverage dropped to 0.8x.

The company added 2,350 new network sites, expanding 4G coverage to 98.5% and rolling out 5G in five countries.
Airtel also extended its fibre network by 4,000 km, bringing total capacity to 81,000 km.

Capex remained steady at $318 million, but guidance for FY2026 has been increased to $875–$900 million, reflecting plans to accelerate investment in data infrastructure and digital services.

Leadership Commentary

Mr. Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer of Airtel, said the results demonstrate Airtel’s strategic focus on customer experience and operational efficiency.

“Our strong revenue performance and cost efficiency initiatives have driven EBITDA margins to 49% in Q2’26. We remain confident in accelerating our investments to capture Africa’s digital growth potential and deliver long-term value to stakeholders,” Taldar said.

Airtel Africa’s robust half-year results affirm its successful pivot to digital and fintech-driven growth, positioning the company as one of Africa’s most profitable and technologically advanced telecom operators.
While external challenges such as inflation and FX volatility persist, the company’s investments in data, mobile money, and infrastructure continue to secure its leadership in the continent’s fast-evolving digital economy.