Airtel Africa Half-Year Results: Revenue Up 25%, Profit Quadruples, Digital And Financial Services Drive Growth
• Six Months Reports Ended 30 Sept. 2025
• Strong Execution Drive Robust Half-Year Performance
Airtel Africa plc has reported another strong set of results for the half year ended 30 September 2025, reflecting sustained customer growth, rising demand for digital services, and continued execution of its customer-centric strategy.
Operating Highlights
Customer Growth: Total customer base grew 11% to 173.8 million, driven by strong demand across all segments.
Data Expansion: Data customers increased 18.4% to 78.1 million, with smartphone penetration up 3.8 percentage points to 46.8%. Data usage surged 45%, driving 16.8% growth in data ARPU.
Airtel Money: Continued momentum with 49.8 million customers, up 20%. Total processed value reached $193 billion, a 35.9% increase year-on-year, supported by 11% ARPU growth.
Network Investment: Over 2,350 new sites rolled out, taking the total to 38,300, and 4,000 km of additional fibre added, extending the network to 81,000 km. 98.5% of sites are now 4G enabled, with overall population coverage at 81.5%.
Financial Highlights
Revenue Mix:
Data has overtaken voice as the largest revenue contributor, growing 37%, while mobile money revenue grew 30.2% in constant currency.
Regional Performance:
Growth was broad-based — Nigeria revenue rose 42.6% (reported), Francophone Africa 19.2%, and East Africa 22.9%.
Capital Allocation and Balance Sheet
Capex: $318 million for the period; full-year guidance increased to $875–900 million to accelerate investment in network capacity and digital expansion.
Debt Localisation: 95% of OpCo debt now in local currency, up from 89% last year.
Leverage: Improved to 2.1x, with lease-adjusted leverage at 0.8x.
Dividend: Interim dividend declared at 2.84 cents per share, up 9.2%.
Share Buyback: $65m completed; remaining $20.3m to be executed by 31 March 2026.
Revenue Mix:
Data has overtaken voice as the largest revenue contributor, growing 37%, while mobile money revenue grew 30.2% in constant currency.
Regional Performance:
Growth was broad-based — Nigeria revenue rose 42.6% (reported), Francophone Africa 19.2%, and East Africa 22.9%.
CEO Commentary – Sunil Taldar
“Our strong first-half results reflect the success of our strategy centred on customer experience, digital innovation, and disciplined investment.
The growing adoption of our MyAirtel app, increased smartphone penetration, and the continued success of Airtel Money demonstrate our leadership in driving digital and financial inclusion across Africa.
With annualised total processed value nearing $200 billion and data now our largest revenue segment, we are well-positioned to capture the continent’s expanding digital opportunity.
The strength of our revenue and margin performance gives us the confidence to increase capex and further invest in capacity to deliver sustainable long-term growth for our stakeholders.”
Strategic and Corporate Updates
Infrastructure Partnerships:
Airtel Africa signed strategic infrastructure-sharing agreements with Vodacom (in Tanzania, DRC, and Mozambique) and MTN (in Uganda and Nigeria) to accelerate network rollout and expand connectivity.
SpaceX Collaboration:
Partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink to deliver high-speed satellite internet across rural Africa; licences secured in nine countries to date.
Airtel Money IPO:
Preparation for listing remains on track for H1 2026.
Leadership Changes:
• Kamal Dua appointed CFO following Jaideep Paul’s retirement.
• Cynthia Gordon joined as Independent Non-Executive Director.
• Akhil Gupta retired from the Board.
• Sunil Bharti Mittal and Gopal Vittal appointed to BT Group plc Board.
Dividend Payment Date: 12 December 2025 (record date: 7 November 2025).
Outlook
Airtel Africa remains confident in sustaining its growth momentum through continued digital adoption, network investment, and financial inclusion initiatives. The Group expects to maintain strong cash generation and further strengthen its balance sheet while delivering progressive shareholder returns.
