Airtel Africa announced its financial result for half-year ended 30 September 2024 saying revenue fell 9.7 percent due to currency devaluation.
Airtel Africa’s customer base grew by 6.1 percent, reaching 156.6 million. Airtel Africa’s mobile data customers rose by 10.4 percent to 66 million, with data usage per customer up 30.9 percent to 6.6 GBs. Smartphone penetration also increased by 5.3 percent, reaching 42.9 percent.
Airtel Africa’s mobile money subscribers increased by 13.4 percent, reaching 41.5 million. This growth reflects expanded distribution efforts, driving financial inclusion. The transaction value rose 30.1 percent in constant currency, with an annualized transaction value of $128 billion.
Data Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) grew by 13.5 percent. Mobile money ARPU of Airtel Africa grew by 10.9 percent, supporting an 11.1 percent rise in overall ARPU.
Significant investments in network infrastructure led to a 20 percent increase in data capacity, with the addition of over 2,800 sites and 3,500 km of fiber.
Revenue increased by 19.9 percent in H1’25, with Q2’25 growth at 20.8 percent. Nigeria showed a significant revenue surge of 38.2 percent, while Francophone Africa saw a 9.0 percent increase. Mobile services revenue grew by 18.4 percent, and mobile money revenue by 28.8 percent. However, reported currency revenues declined by 9.7 percent due to currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria.
EBITDA Margins: Higher fuel prices and reduced contributions from Nigeria (due to the naira devaluation) impacted EBITDA margins, reducing them to 45.8 percent in H1’25 from 49.6 percent in H1’24. Cost-efficiency efforts improved Q2 margins to 46.4 percent, with constant currency EBITDA up by 13.5 percent.
Profit after tax of $79 million was reduced by $151 million in derivative and foreign exchange losses, mainly due to the Nigerian naira’s depreciation.
Airtel Africa’s Capex totaled $316 million, up by 1.3 percent from the prior period. The full-year Capex guidance remains between $725 million and $750 million, supporting growth-focused investments.
Airtel Nigeria
Airtel Nigeria’s revenue grew by 35.6 percent in constant currency, driven by strong demand for data services. Growth accelerated to 37.9 percent in Q2’25 from 33.2 percent in Q1’25.
Due to the significant devaluation of the Nigerian naira, reported revenue declined 44.3 percent to $489 million.
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) rose 31.8 percent, while the customer base remained stable after compliance-related subscriber disconnections.
Voice revenue increased by 23.0 percent in constant currency, with voice ARPU growing 19.6 percent.
Data revenue grew 44.4 percent in constant currency, driven by a 30.5 percent increase in data ARPU and 8.6 percent growth in data users.
Average data usage per customer rose 36.0 percent to 8.1 GB per month, with smartphone penetration climbing to 48.5 percent. Monthly smartphone data usage per customer reached 10.9 GB, up from 8.6 GB previously.
Airtel East Africa
Airtel East Africa’s reported revenue grew 7.5 percent to $883 million, while constant currency revenue grew 19.1 percent.
Voice revenue increased 10.9 percent in constant currency, with customer base growth of 9.0 percent. Voice ARPU remained flat, impacted by regulatory reductions in interconnect rates across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda.
Customer growth was driven by expanded network coverage and an enlarged distribution network.
Data revenue increased 26.1 percent in constant currency, supported by a 12.1 percent growth in data customers and 10.0 percent growth in data ARPU.
4G infrastructure covers 98.8 percent of Airtel East Africa sites, up from 93.9 percent previously. Additionally, 986 sites are now 5G-enabled across four markets.
Monthly data usage per customer rose 28.4 percent to 5.9 GB, with smartphone penetration up 4.9 percent to reach 40.2 percent. Monthly smartphone data usage per customer grew to 7.4 GB from 6.1 GB.
Airtel Francophone
Airtel Francophone’s reported revenue rose 5.2 percent, while constant currency growth was 5.3 percent. Growth was constrained by high inflation, though it improved from 3.6 percent in Q1’25 to 7.1 percent in Q2’25.
Voice revenue declined 1.0 percent in constant currency. Although the customer base grew by 9.0 percent, voice ARPU dropped due to regulatory cuts in interconnect rates in Congo B and Niger and intensified competition.
Customer growth was supported by increased network coverage and distribution infrastructure.
Data revenue grew 18.1 percent in constant currency, driven by a 10.6 percent growth in data customers.
Total data usage rose 41.8 percent, with per-customer data usage increasing 22.8 percent to 5.1 GB per month. Smartphone penetration climbed 5.4 percent to reach 40.8 percent, with smartphone users averaging 6.2 GB per month, up from 5.1 GB.
