Airtel Africa Grows Revenue 31% in Q1 FY2027, Eyes London Listing for Airtel Money

Airtel Africa  delivered a strong start to its 2027 financial year, reporting double-digit growth across its customer base, mobile services, and Airtel Money business. The telecommunications group increased its total customer base by 11.6% to 189 million, while data customers grew 15.5% to 87.3 million, driven by rising smartphone adoption and higher demand for digital services. Smartphone penetration reached 51%, contributing to a 56.3% increase in data traffic and continued growth in data usage per customer.

The company’s mobile money business also maintained strong momentum. Airtel Money’s customer base expanded by 23.3% to 56.5 million, while annualised total processed value (TPV) rose 51.5% to more than $245 billion. Airtel Africa attributed the growth to increased customer adoption, broader financial service offerings, and higher usage of its digital payments ecosystem, further strengthening Airtel Money’s position as a leading financial services platform across its markets.

Financially, Airtel Africa reported 31% growth in revenue to $1.85 billion, supported by constant currency revenue growth of 21.1%. Mobile services revenue increased 19.1%, while mobile money revenue climbed 25.8% in constant currency. EBITDA grew 36.6% to $928 million, with the EBITDA margin improving to 50.1%. Profit after tax rose to $198 million from $156 million a year earlier, while basic earnings per share increased from 3.4 cents to 4.4 cents.

The company also accelerated investment in its network infrastructure, with capital expenditure rising to $389 million during the quarter. Airtel Africa deployed more than 920 new sites, its highest first-quarter rollout, and expanded its fibre network to 82,100 kilometres to improve network capacity, coverage, and customer experience. The Board also approved a share buyback programme of up to 1% of the company’s issued share capital.

“We have started this year with another pleasing performance. Our continued focus on the customer experience translated into accelerating customer base growth across all business segments. As we continue to digitise our business, we are streamlining customer journeys, increasing digital adoption and harnessing data and AI to improve service delivery and support a strong, sustainable growth profile. Smartphone penetration reached 51.0%, an increase of 5.2 percentage points over the last year, reflecting continued progress in digital adoption across our markets. Supported by sustained investment in our network, this has driven a 56.3% increase in data traffic as customers embrace digital solutions across our markets. Airtel Money continues to expand financial inclusion across our markets and unlock new growth vectors. Annualised TPV in excess of $245bn increased 51.5% reflecting the strength of engagement across the ecosystem, as the suite of product continues to expand and digital adoption underpins the customer experience. As we enter the next phase of our growth journey, we are pleased to confirm London as our preferred listing venue for Airtel Money in 2026. We believe a London listing will provide access to a broad international investor base and support our ambition to unlock the long-term value of one of Africa’s leading fintech platforms.”

– Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa

“We continue to see our cost efficiency programme supporting EBITDA margin resilience, with EBITDA margins of 50.1% in the quarter. Higher energy costs arising from recent geopolitical developments are expected to increase inflationary pressures and weigh on EBITDA margins in the near term, however, we will continue to focus on offsetting some of this impact over the year. Our accelerated investment programme remains on track, with investment brought forward into Q1 as we proactively invest ahead of demand to sustain our strong operating momentum and capture the growth opportunities presented by Africa’s ongoing digital transformation.”

– Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa