Airtel Africa Sees Robust Growth Despite Economic Challenges

Airtel Africa plc has released its financial results for the quarter ending 30 June 2024, showcasing robust growth despite a challenging macro-economic environment. The company’s total customer base grew by 8.6%, reaching 155.4 million, with data customers increasing by 13.4% to 64.4 million. Data usage per customer saw a 25.1% rise to 6.2 GBs, and smartphone penetration increased by 4.7%, reaching 41.7%.

Mobile money subscriber growth of 14.9% reflects Airtel Africa’s continued investment in distribution to support financial inclusion across its markets, with transaction value increasing by 28.7% in constant currency and an annualised transaction value of $120 billion in reported currency. Data ARPU grew by 9.6%, and mobile money ARPU grew by 8.8% in constant currency, supporting an overall ARPU increase of 9.3% year-on-year. Sustained network investment drove increased capacity and coverage, with data capacity across the network increasing by 33% through the rollout of almost 3,000 sites and over 5,600 kilometers of fiber.

A comprehensive cost efficiency program was launched to identify specific cost reduction initiatives across the Group. Steps taken include optimizing network utilization and design, introducing energy-saving initiatives to reduce network costs, and renegotiating key contracts, ensuring future growth ambitions remain protected. The full benefit of this program is expected to accrue over the year ahead.

Financially, Airtel Africa saw revenue in constant currency grow by 19.0% in Q1’25, driven by 33.4% growth in Nigeria and 22.3% growth in East Africa. However, reported currency revenues declined by 16.1% to $1,156 million, reflecting the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria. Across the Group, mobile services revenue grew by 17.4% and Mobile Money revenue grew by 28.4% in constant currency. A substantial increase in fuel prices across markets and the lower contribution of Nigeria to the Group after the naira devaluation contributed to a decline in EBITDA margins to 45.3% from 49.5% in Q1’24 and 46.5% in Q4’24. However, constant currency EBITDA increased by 11.3%, while reported currency EBITDA declined by 23.3% to $523 million. Profit after tax of $31 million was impacted by $80 million of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses (net of tax), arising from the further depreciation in the Nigerian naira during the quarter. The translation impact of currency devaluation on reported currency results was the primary driver of EPS before exceptional items declining from 3.9 cents in the prior period to 2.3 cents. Basic EPS of 0.2 cents compares to negative (4.5 cents) in the prior period, predominantly reflecting the $471 million of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period, compared to $122 million in the current period.

Airtel Africa continues to demonstrate strong fundamentals and focused execution, supporting its operating performance despite the challenging economic landscape.