Airtel Africa Records Sharp Profit Growth

Airtel Africa reported a major rise in profit for the last financial year, driven by strong revenue growth across its telecoms and mobile money services.

The telecommunications company announced on Friday that net profit increased by 147.4 per cent compared with 2024. Revenue also climbed by 29.5 per cent, rising from $5 billion to $6.4 billion across its 14 African markets, including Nigeria, its largest operation.

According to the company, data revenue remained the biggest contributor to growth as more customers adopted smartphones and digital services. The firm’s mobile money division also delivered strong results, generating $1.4 billion in revenue following solid expansion in East Africa and Francophone African markets.

Operating profit rose by 45.1 per cent to $2.1 billion during the review period. Meanwhile, underlying EBITDA margin improved to 49.3 per cent from 46.5 per cent recorded a year earlier.

Chief Executive Officer Sunil Tadar said technology and innovation played a major role in the company’s performance. He stated: “Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies, with wide-ranging rollouts enhancing customer experience through site-level network optimisation, streamlined onboarding and accelerating the rollout of myAirtel app.”

He added that the strategy contributed to a 22 per cent increase in smartphone users to 91 million and almost 50 per cent growth in data traffic. The strong performance of Airtel Money also supported overall earnings growth.

Profit before tax jumped by 114.5 per cent to $1.4 billion, while profit after tax rose sharply to $813 million from $328 million.

Airtel Africa is also preparing to separate its mobile money business from its core telecoms operations. Plans for an initial public offering remain under consideration, although the proposed listing has been delayed because of market uncertainty linked to tensions in the Middle East.

The company’s total assets increased to $14 billion from $12 billion recorded the previous year.

Do you think Airtel Africa’s expansion into digital services and mobile money will continue driving its growth across Africa?